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The wink that proves Tammy Abraham has gone full Mourinho

Tammy Abraham winks
Tammy Abraham winks

In the closing moments of Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final, Roma’s Tammy Abraham went down under a challenge from a Feyenoord defender, gaining his side a freekick in a potent area. But it was what he did as he rose to his feet that spoke volumes about how much he has developed as a player during his Roman adventure.

He looked towards the touchline, where his manager and mentor, Jose Mourinho, was standing, and winked. This was not a twitch, or a flick. He didn't have something in his eye. This was a knowing, full-on Ronaldo of a wink, an intervention that suggested he was more than aware his exaggerated tumble had convinced the referee to award a free-kick that could only help his team. This was a wink that didn’t just signal an easy self-confidence.

It showed he had learned from his time in Italy, that he had become absorbed in Serie A, that he had adopted the local methodologies. In short, that he had become properly cynical. And that, for all those who have watched his development as a player, can only be reckoned a good thing.

This season has been a triumphant one for Abraham. His 17 goals and four assists in 37 Serie A matches is a record return for an English striker in Italy. To thrive there is not easy. Some of the finest forwards in British football history found it more than challenging being routinely confronted by defenders happy to employ any method to stop them. Jimmy Greaves couldn’t wait to get back from Milan, Denis Law spoke of being “rescued” from Torino, Ian Rush reckoned it all a little foreign at Juventus. But, since Mourinho - who knew him as a youth player at Chelsea - took him to Roma last summer, Abraham has blossomed.

True, at Stamford Bridge he had promised much. When Frank Lampard was manager, he was a frequent choice to lead the line, linking up profitably with fellow academy graduate Mason Mount. But when Thomas Tuchel found himself being made a gift of Romelu Lukaku last summer and Abraham was reckoned surplus to requirements, Mourinho pounced and he moved to Rome.

He was an immediate success. And his progress has been helped by his willingness to assimilate. Sure, it helped he was not the only Englishman on Roma’s books - Chris Smalling at been at the club since 2019, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles joined him in January. And yes, his manager is not exactly without a facility in English so could deliver instructions he could easily understand.

Tammy Abraham and Chris Smalling
Tammy Abraham and Chris Smalling

But, perhaps noting the less than happy consequence of Gareth Bale’s detachment in Madrid, he made strenuous efforts to absorb himself in the local culture. He took Italian lessons, working hard to learn the words of the Roma anthem, which he belts out in full along with his team-mates ahead of home games. Football fans notice that kind of thing and the ultras in the Stadio Olimpico took to him, loving his spirit, his enthusiasm, his whole-hearted resolve. And his goals.

'He has shaken off the reluctance to bully opponents'

Indeed, it is not just his cheerful adoption of the Italian approach to gaining advantage when tackled in a  dangerous area that shows what he has taken from his time in Italy. Routinely up against more ruthless defenders than he will have encountered in England, he has learned to use his considerable physical attributes. He has become far better at making his presence felt in the opposition area, shaking off the reluctance to bully opponents that often characterised his performance at Chelsea.

And that can only be good for the national team. Gareth Southgate is blessed with a surfeit of creative midfielders. But to convert the chances created by Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Mount, he needs someone beyond Harry Kane who is adept at putting the ball in the net. With Dominic Calvert Lewin and Marcus Rashford suffering from damaging loss of form this season, Abraham’s excellence in Italy has made him a much more plausible option to act as Kane’s understudy or to be brought from the bench should reinforcements or a change of direction be needed.

This summer in the Nations League he will get his chance to shine. He is now just a wink away from becoming an England regular.