Transfer target 'still watches every Aston Villa game' as €10m claim made

Aston Villa could bring former striker Tammy Abraham back to the club this summer for a cut-price deal as AS Roma prepare to allow the forward to leave the Italian capital. Abraham, then on the books of Chelsea, joined Villa on a loan deal in 2018 and he scored 26 goals in the Championship - including the play-offs - as Villa secured a return to the Premier League.

Abraham, who moved to Roma in 2021 for a fee of £34m, signed a five-year deal upon arrival and so has two years remaining on that contract, but like so many other clubs around Europe this summer the Giallorossi need to raise funds to comply with the financial rules. Abraham, as a consequence, could be offloaded.

Roma, who also had Romelu Lukaku on loan this past season, are set to send the Belgian back to Chelsea and will likely begin next term with a new-look front-line if Abraham leaves. Reports in Italy claim that they must raise 10m euros by the end of June or risk being found to have breached those regulations.

Abraham, who has scored 37 goals in 119 appearances for the club since joining, suffered a devastating knee ligament tear 12 months ago and only made his long-awaited return to action at the back end of the season. He netted a late equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Napoli and featured in the Europa League quarter and semi finals as Roma were knocked out by finalists Bayer Leverkusen.

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Daniele De Rossi was pleased by what he had seen of Abraham prior to his return. “It’s good to have enthusiasm, and he has it," he said. "At times having a serious injury can also give you that frustration that comes from being forced to sit there and watch your teammates, so when you get the chance, you want to get out there and make up for lost time.

“The important thing is that he concentrates on football, not to waste that energy in things that are less important. I spoke to him, he is very concentrated, I have great faith in him. There can be some struggles after returning from a long injury lay-off, but we have great faith in him.”

Abraham, who hit double figures for Chelsea in the two seasons prior to his departure and who has scored three goals in his 11 caps for England, has spoken recently of the enjoyment he had at Villa: "It was probably my best experience [of all his loans]. It wasn't my plan to go from Prem to Champ, but looking back I have no regrets. It was an amazing club, I didn't realise how massive they were until I was there.

"The best thing was to have a great season and to have a promotion - it was probably one of the best moments of my career so far. I still watch every game and still feel the same love for them."

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