Arsenal linked with surprise move for Chelsea striker
Arsenal have joined the race to sign Tammy Abraham from Chelsea this summer, according to reports.
The Englishman is hoping to leave Stamford Bridge after spending plenty of time on the bench last season.
He didn’t even make the squad for Chelsea’s Champions League final win over Manchester City. Manager Thomas Tuchel prefers to operate with either Timo Werner or Kai Havertz up front.
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According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are monitoring Abraham’s situation ahead of a potential move.
They could rival Aston Villa for the striker’s signature, should a bidding war start in the coming months.
Abraham might be tempted to join Chelsea’s London rivals as he was a Gunners fan growing up.
The report claims that Arsenal would need to sell players to reach the Blues’ £40million asking price.
Full-back Hector Bellerin is close to joining Italian champions Inter Milan. His move would fund about half of that sum, while midfielder Lucas Torreira and striker Alexandre Lacazette could also depart.
Mikel Arteta’s favoured option in attack is club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Despite struggling at times last term, Aubameyang still managed 15 goals in all competitions, including ten in the league.
He’s been the club’s top goalscorer in two of the last three campaigns.
However, the pacy forward is now 32 years old, which means Arsenal need to start thinking about his successor.
Abraham could be the ideal man to spearhead their attack going forward.
He is a proven finisher who just needs regular game time to show his class.
He had to rely on cup competitions for starts in 2020/21 but finished as Chelsea’s joint top scorer with 12 strikes, alongside Werner.
West Ham were in the running for his signature in April, before manager David Moyes claimed a £40m deal would be too expensive.
The Scotsman said: “If that’s the figure and that’s what’s being said, we are ruled out.
“We don’t have that money, we don’t have that to buy a striker at that price, no.
“Is that sort of figure our total spend? It may well be. But you never know here.
“I don’t think we will be making a purchase of that for any one player. I’d be surprised if we were.”
