Can Tammy Abraham Succeed at Chelsea?
A player that divides opinion. Tammy has had an adventurous first season at Chelsea. His hard work paid off after being loaned for the last 3 to 4 years. Now, he is in Chelsea’s first-team and that always brings praise as well as criticism. Below we will discuss in detail about Tammy Abraham and what lies ahead.
Season Stats and Reviews:
First, lets shall discuss his first full season at Chelsea. Tammy Abraham has scored 17 goals in all competition with 15 of those arriving in the Premier League. Before 2020, Tammy had scored 12 goals in just half of the Premier League campaign. Only in 2020, he has been able to find the net just 3 times. He was a contender for the highest scorer at one stage but injuries and inconsistencies swayed it away.
Now the question arises, was it a good season?
After accumulating 25 goals in the previous season in Championship, people wanted to see how will he perform at a bigger stage with bigger pressure. His previous loan spell in the Premier League at Swansea did not inspire much confidence but his returns in the Championship were astronomical. Along with Scoring 25 last year, he had also scored 23 for Bristol City in 2017.
He started his Chelsea career with an unlucky penalty miss against Liverpool. It resulted in unwarranted abuse and criticism which is unfortunate for modern footballers, but with the manager’s faith and love, he excelled. He responded excellently with a brace against Norwich to start his scoring streak. Arguably against Wolves, he put his best performance in a Chelsea shirt scoring a hat trick in 5-2 triumph for Chelsea. It showed glimpses of what Chelsea have in Tammy Abraham. His 67% goals in the Premier League have come on away grounds. He has helped Chelsea perform above expectations at away grounds. No one at the start of the season expected to him to be this good let alone providing us with 15 goals this season. The biggest criticism fans have stated is his returns against the big teams and he has only 2 goals to show in those. But overall having 15 gaols that account 22% of your total goals this season in the league isn’t a bad return. No doubt 2020 hasn’t gone well for him but he exceeded expectations this season and we must keep believing in him.
Now with season review, let’s analyze what lies ahead for him, and can he be a focal point for our future?
How does he compare to his counterparts?
Timo Werner:
Let’s start with our upcoming striker next season, Timo Werner. He has accumulated 28 goals in the league this season along with assisting on 8 occasions. That is nearly double of what Tammy has been able to create. Attackingly his stats are understandably better than Tammy Abraham after such an amazing season. He has 1.6 key passes per game which is way higher than 0.6 key passes per game by Tammy Abraham. He has 1.7 dribbles per game whereas Tammy has 0.4 dribbles per game.
Now with statistical comparison above, I want to share my views on the eye test I undertook of both players.
No doubt I have had the opportunity to see more of Abraham as he plays for the team I support and watch. But I have watched enough of Werner to be able to give my views on what lies ahead for Chelsea fans. Werner really excels in the attacking department where he makes some good clever runs. Tammy also does that on some occasions but he still sometimes falls short. Both players are different from Giroud and we must be ready to undergo a lot of offside calls when they play. They are very similar in attributes they have with Werner excelling Abraham for now. Both do have a tendency to miss big chances and we must remain calm with their development. Both of them do attempt a lot of bad control per game and for fans who get frustrated with Abraham in this regard, Werner exceeds Abraham in this department. Doubt you have seen with regards to Werner is his aerial strength. Fans have regularly critiqued Abraham on his aerial presence. Giroud at presence is preferred by fans for his good control and aerial ability. You will be surprised to hear that Werner is aerially worse than Tammy Abraham. Now does that mean he will struggle? Definitely not. But patience must be required. Werner at present is an upgrade to Giroud and Tammy but patience is needed with both Werner and Tammy Abraham.
Olivier Giroud:
Giroud is one of the best professionals I have seen play for my beautiful club. From being on the benches for half of the campaign to an outright starter presently, it shows his hard-work to get back in the reckoning. Tammy started the campaign well but his injuries and inconsistencies paved way for Giroud’s insurgence. He has scored in 4 of his previous 5 matches. Overall Giroud has scored 7 goals this season where his most appearances were as a substitute. Tammy gives you pace and press, Giroud gives you control and grit. Tammy exceeds him in key passes per game and dribbles per game but gets overtaken in Aerial wins per game. Giroud might not be your modern striker with tricks and dribbles, but he always fulfills his duties. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to observe both players over the course of the season and give my views on their comparisons.
Tammy helps the team to press and provides pace on the counters. Giroud on the other hand helps bring others into the games. Both have different attributes and play differently yet Giroud recently has outperformed Tammy. Tammy after the break has looked a shadow of what he was in 2019. Giroud has just not provided the attack with gritty strength but has helped the team as a whole to attack. He has limitations but he helps bring Pulisic and mount into the game. Statistically, Tammy is not far in terms of Aerials win per game, but people who have watched the game have seen a major difference between both in this regard. Tammy has been sluggish and keeps losing the ball. His performances against Sheffield and West ham were nothing short of terrible. It has created doubt whether he will succeed at Chelsea in the future or not.
Other Premier League Strikers:
Let’s compare with two consistent performers: Jiminez and Ings. Many of our fans rate them higher than Tammy but let’s see how he compares to them.
Danny Ings has scored 21 goals this season. An inspiration for everyone, he has really stunned the whole football community. To score so astronomically at a mid-table side is nothing short of exceptional. He has 0.9 key passes per game that is higher than 0.6 of Tammy Abraham. He resembles tammy in the form of having a lot of bad control per game. With a team having a lower quality of players with no disrespect intended in comparison to Chelsea, Ings has performed tremendously well. No doubt at present you will pick him over Tammy, but Tammy is 22 and is only going to improve. Never forget Tammy also has contributed 15 goals in his first full Premier League season.
Raul Jiminez on the other hand has scored 17 and assisting on 6 occasions. With 1.3 key passes per game, he exceeds Tammy in this regard. He has scored and assisted more than tammy. With his consistent performance for 2 regular years in the Premier League, he currently is better than Tammy. But context always supersedes present. Jiminez is 29 whereas tammy is 22. To have 15 goals at this age and in his first season, it’s exemplary stuff.
Verdict:
Last some weeks have raised some important questions:
“ Is his mentality right? “
“ Can he handle competitiveness? “
“ What does he do except Goals? “
“ Was his form a fluke? “
His performances in 2020 have unfortunately put him in a bad light. Even I have been unimpressed and frustrated on some occasions. Looking sluggish, clumsy mistakes and low morale have been resembling him in 2020. With only 3 goals in 2020, no doubt the confidence in a player can vanish. I have never overhyped any of our players and never will. But context must supersede instant reaction. He is only 22. In his first full season with all the pressure a striker faces at Chelsea, he has done exceptionally well. Scoring 15 in a season isn’t a small feat especially when its Chelsea’s weakest squad under Abramovich era.
Contract issues never help. After Hudson Odoi contract debacle, each new contract is looked with criticism. Reports of tammy demanding 180 k wages never help and we are gullible enough to believe them. Before reacting, it’s our duty to check whether the source is reliable or not. After that, think realistically. Every player in the modern world has high wages, especially at bigger clubs. In the end its the club decision and if they give the green light, don’t associate that with the player. Its a club decision to pay what they want. Now the question arises, “ Does he deserve that? “. Recent performances might not warrant it but his 15 goals are hugely responsible for our top 4 spots. Overall to conclude this point, contract issues must be left up to board executives. Players must be judged on performances.
With Chelsea signing Werner and Giroud’s insurgence, people find Tammy to not be in favor of competitiveness. At first, every player wants to play and not warm the benches. But Chelsea is a big club and they must recruit the best players in the whole world. No doubt Werner signing has impacted not only Tammy but also Giroud. With a player having 15 goals this term, we shouldn’t discount him with competitiveness. Tammy must be given next year and then we can see whether he excels in competitiveness or not.
Tammy misses a lot of big chances but he has age on his side. These things improve gradually with patience and hard work. He deserves another season to prove himself. I doubted him and never expected him to score 15 and he proved us all wrong. He has flattered to deceive in 2020 but we should have expected that with this being his first full Premier League season. He has some very good attributes like pace, runs, pressing, goal instincts but with still young, he will show clumsiness in clinicality.
Overall to conclude all of this, “Can Tammy Abraham Succeed at Chelsea?”. I believe he can. Werner will take time to adjust and next year could be the last for Giroud. Tammy has proved himself and has contributed massively to our cause for the Champions League spot. He has to improve and continuing this terrible form will only lead to a future sale. But at present, we must give be patient and judge him after some matches next season. It will show whether this season was a one-off or there is something greater ahead. Let’s hope for the latter.
Credits: WhoScored
