Chelsea give Tammy Abraham green light to join Arsenal

Few would have predicted Jorginho to be Chelsea’s top Premier League scorer last season.

Now, 12 months later, and despite Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, the Blues’ summer signings of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz may not have had quite the desired effect.

All three struggled for vast spells of the season and, having scored seven penalties in the league, Italian midfielder Jorginho finished the season top of the club’s league scoring charts.

In all competitions, however, it was a different story, as young striker Tammy Abraham finished as the club’s top scorer for the second consecutive season.

This is despite the Englishman finding his playing opportunities almost entirely non existent since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel.

Since the German’s arrival, Abraham played in just seven of Chelsea’s 19 remaining league games.

The 23-year-old found himself behind the likes of Werner and Havertz, both of whom were utilised as makeshift centre forwards, as well as Olivier Giroud.

Now, it appears that the Blues have given Abraham the green light to move elsewhere, despite him being most closely linked with one of their biggest rivals.

According to The Sun, Arsenal are in the strongest position to sign Abraham, despite the interest of both Tottenham and West Ham.

The report suggests that Chelsea will allow the striker to depart on loan initially, provided that a £40 million obligation-to-buy clause is agreed upon.

Abraham has won the Europa League and Champions League with Chelsea. 

West Ham were reportedly put off by Chelsea’s asking price and couldn’t afford any more than £30 million for the striker, while Spurs are also unlikely to agree a deal.

This leaves Arsenal where signing Abraham would be another step in the right direction for Mikel Arteta, who has a long list of positions in which he wishes to recruit reinforcements.

A goalkeeper, centre-back, midfielder and striker are all on Arteta’s list, with the signing of Nuno Tavares from Benfica having removed the need for a full-back.

It is believed that the obligation-to-buy will be on the basis that Abraham makes a pre-determined number of appearances during his season-long loan spell in North London.

Chelsea will also benefit from having Abraham’s £80,000-per-week salary removed from their wage bill, potentially freeing up further funds for a striking target.