When Tammy Abraham took the brave decision to leave his West London comfort zone at Chelsea in the summer of 2021, his personal ambition was to be applauded. He could easily have stayed put, or sought out a Premier League move, but instead he opted to fly the nest and head for Italy.
The familiar face of Jose Mourinho was waiting for him at Roma, with the former Stamford Bridge boss helping to smooth over what could have been a bumpy transition to life in a new club, country and culture.
Abraham quickly set about endearing himself to a Roman fan base, with four goals recorded through his opening nine appearances for the Giallorossi. By the end of his debut campaign at Stadio Olimpico, the England international had found the target on 27 occasions across all competitions – a personal best return for a man with a Europa Conference League winners’ medal in hand.
Standards
Tammy Abraham ends his first season in Rome with a trophy ? pic.twitter.com/WOLrzyz9qo
— GOAL (@goal) May 25, 2022
Maintaining those standards was always going to be difficult, but few could have predicted that second-season syndrome would hit Abraham quite so hard. Goals in back-to-back appearances have proved elusive, with the net being hit on a sporadic basis in 2022/23.
In many ways, Abraham’s inconsistency has mirrored that of Roma as a collective. A team molded in the image of their manager can look like world beaters one minute and also-rans the next. That kind of form makes them infuriatingly difficult to predict.
Whether it be final outcomes, the chances of Mourinho seeing out 90 minutes on the touchline, card and corner counts or first goalscorer markets, those that pay their money and take their chances when heading through the turnstiles on a weekly basis are finding it as tricky as any tipsters to separate contenders from pretenders.
That is where expertise comes in – be that in the dugout, leading an attacking unit or drawing up inside scoops on betting channels – with there always somebody on hand to pick through the pieces of an intricate puzzle and put them together in the right order.
Abraham is supposed to contribute significantly to a bid for more profit than loss at Roma, with his game all about delivering the end product which allows precious points to be collected. As he has not be doing that as frequently as he would like this season, inevitable questions are being asked of his future.
Suitors
Tammy Abraham (18 goals) has drawn level with Trevor Francis as the third highest scoring English player in Serie A history.
Only Gerry Hitchens (59) and David Platt (31) are now ahead of him. ???????#ASRoma #JuveRoma pic.twitter.com/YWEIGqQuog
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) August 27, 2022
Speculation has surfaced once more regarding a potential retracting of steps to the Premier League, with there still plenty of suitors to be found there despite a dip form on the Serie A front and a high-profile snubbing from England’s 2022 World Cup squad.
Mourinho has admitted to having “some doubts” about Abraham this season, and to lose the confidence of a demanding coach is never a recipe for long-term success.
Maybe the proven marksman has already peaked during an ambitious adventure in continental Europe, with still plenty of happy memories for him to cling on to. If he really is destined to be nothing more than a one-season wonder, and with his asking price remaining high for now, then Roma could open themselves up to offers at the next opportunity.