Tammy Abraham reveals why he chose to join Roma over Arsenal

Abraham swaps London for Rome

Tammy Abraham left Chelsea this summer in a move reportedly setting Roma back 36 million pounds, and has taken to life in Italy incredibly well.

The 24 year old Englishman has contributed to five goals (2 goals and three assists) in seven Serie A appearances for Jose Mourinho, while he has also found the net twice in two UEFA conference league fixtures, already showing more form than he could sustain at Chelsea.

He has also, astonishingly, hit the frame of the goal SIX times already for the Serie A side, suggesting his goalscoring record could yet improve further in Rome.

His good form has seen him earn a late call up to the England squad by Gareth Southgate, after initially being left off of the squad list, and will be hoping to add to his six caps for the Three Lions this international break.

🚨 EXCL: Tammy Abraham called into England squad for World Cup qualifiers v Andorra + Hungary. 24yo rewarded for impressive form since joining Roma from Chelsea. Not replacing anyone. Last of 6 #ENG caps was in Nov 2020 @TheAthleticUK #WCQ2022 #ASRoma #CFC https://t.co/DyS9PaO2gh

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) October 4, 2021

Former Chelsea man reveals why he opted to head to Serie A

At one point, it seemed as though Tammy Abraham may have been on his way to the Emirates to join up with Arsenal, instead of the side from the Italian capital.

Mark Irwin: Arsenal want to offload Alexandre Lacazette in £15m transfer and push ahead with move for Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham https://t.co/NbjQ4ggPcU

— Osman 🎗 (@OsmanZtheGooner) July 23, 2021

However, a move was forthcoming, and Abraham has since lifted the lid on what made him decide not to wait for the opportunity, and to instead join Roma. Clearly, manager Jose Mourinho was a massive draw for the youngster, with the Cobham graduate saying:

“I picked up the phone and he was like: ‘Do you want to enjoy some sun or stay in the rain?’ I laughed,”

“At first I didn’t think much of it when we were speaking. My mindset was that I wanted to be in the Premier League. I felt like it was home, being around London, being around England.

“But when he speaks, you listen. He is a good man and has helped me a lot so far and hopefully we can build on it.

“I had different options. But I spoke to Jose and he had a goal, I could see where he wanted Roma to go and I wanted to be part of the process.

Ultimately, however, it boiled down to trust and game time:

“He really put his trust in me, so he was a big reason why I chose Roma.”

Although Chelsea allegedly have a buyback clause in the deal, will they come to rue letting Tammy Abraham leave London?