Abraham admits to being ‘low in confidence’ before England snub – Mourinho hints striker is ‘distracted’

Lewis Oldham
Abraham discusses his form

AS Roma striker Tammy Abraham has admitted that he has been “low in confidence” in recent weeks amid his struggles in front of goal.

Abraham loved life in Italy last season following his summer move to AS Roma from Chelsea.

The striker was one of Jose Mourinho’s marquee signings as around £40m was splashed out to bring him to Serie A.

The Englishman thrived in his new surroundings as he scored 27 goals across all competitions to help his side win the Europa Conference League.

Abraham has found life in Serie A more difficult this term, though. He has only been able to score four goals in 19 outings.

He was back on the scoresheet on Wednesday night as he came off the bench to score an equaliser against Sassuolo. Before this midweek clash, Abraham was goalless in seven Serie A games.

In recent months, it looked like Abraham was a shoo-in to represent England at this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.

But Gareth Southgate has not included him in his 26-man squad. The manager stated that a “poor run of scoring form at the wrong time” cost him his place.

Instead of Abraham, Southgate included Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Callum Wilson.

Speaking on Wednesday night, Abraham apologised to Roma’s fans as he “hasn’t been playing his best” of late.

“Before speaking about the game [against Sassuolo], I would like just to talk to the fans, my teammates, the coach, and everyone supporting me,” Abraham told Sky Sport Italia (via Football Italia).

“I know I haven’t been the real me, I know I haven’t been playing the best I can be, but I am human at the end of the day. I’ve been low in confidence, but today I had to show the fans I’m still me and I am still willing to fight for the team and do as much as I can for the team.

“We have one more game to go before the break and after the break, you will see a better and stronger me.”

Before Roma’s midweek stalemate against Sassuolo, Mourinho snapped at a reporter when asked about Abraham.

The ex-Chelsea and Man Utd boss hinted that his striker has been “distracted” by the World Cup.

“You should ask him what’s the problem. If he is distracted, if he has a problem or if he thinks about the World Cup,” Mourinho told reporters.

He added: “It’s not just the goals that we are lacking, but also playing as a team and winning individual duels around the pitch.

“When you play in a very direct fashion, you need to win the individual duels, and we didn’t do that today.”

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