Abraham is embracing competition with Werner and taking his chances

It would be understandable if Tammy Abraham has been thinking lately about what a difference a year makes.

Last November, things couldn’t have been going any better.

Abraham was starting regularly for Chelsea, had found the net nine times for his boyhood club in the new Premier League season and to cap things off, scored his first goal for England in a 7-0 victory over Montenegro.

The striker hasn’t played for his country since.

Why? COVID-19, mainly. Firstly, the pandemic caused a 10-month break between England fixtures; secondly, when the national team finally got back into action in September, he was having to self-isolate at home following a holiday in Mykonos; lastly, after being called up in October, he was told to stay away from the squad because it emerged friends and family had organised a surprise 23rd birthday party for him days earlier, but it broke rules set by the government that only six people could gather in one household.

The timing of his absences couldn’t have been much worse.

Last year, Abraham seemed to be cementing his place as Gareth Southgate’s main back-up to Harry Kane. Now he appears to be a lot further down the pecking order and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the young English striker the country is talking about.

Calvert-Lewin is joint top of the Premier League goalscoring charts with Son Heung-min on eight goals and found the net on his England debut against Wales last month. Danny Ings also scored in that 3-0 win, although his remarkable form for Southampton has been halted by a knee injury last weekend that is expected to keep him out for up to six weeks.

With the postponed European Championship finals set to take place next June, competition for places in attack is intense. Other English strikers in contention include Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Callum Wilson and Patrick Bamford. Should Jamie Vardy decide to end his two-year international retirement, he would also be on manager Southgate’s list. And then you have the threat provided by wide attackers Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho to consider.

The squad to face the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland in England’s last fixtures of 2020 over the next two weeks is to be announced this afternoon (Thursday). Whether Abraham is included or not, he needs to be involved as much as possible for Chelsea if he is to firmly reestablish himself in Southgate’s selection before the summer.

But the chances to do that are already proving much harder to come by due to the west London club’s summer signing of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig. The Germany international is the man leading the line regularly for Chelsea now.

The impact that has had on Abraham’s minutes on the pitch is notable.

During Chelsea’s first 12 games in 2019-20, the England international spent 802 minutes on the pitch. Over the same amount of fixtures so far in this campaign, the total has almost halved to 448 minutes.

Still, at least it is better than how last season finished, when Olivier Giroud was preferred to him in the starting XI on a regular basis. The 2018 World Cup winner has now been relegated to third-choice again, as his tally of 151 minutes this season (94 of them in the Carabao Cup) demonstrates.

The good news is Abraham has responded positively to the situation and reversal of fortune.

It didn’t look that way a few months ago. Sources spoke to The Athletic about him being a frustrated figure behind the scenes.

His contract situation was a major factor. When Abraham agreed a five-year deal in 2017 worth £50,000-a-week, a clause was included that would automatically trigger an option to extend should he score 15 Premier League goals in a season for Chelsea. He registered goal number 15 for 2019-20 against Liverpool in July, so any discussions over a new deal were not necessary as far as the club were concerned. At the time it was suggested his terms had been extended by 12 months, but one insider claims the clause stipulated double that, meaning it won’t expire until 2024.

Now put yourself in Abraham’s shoes.

In your first Premier League campaign as a senior player at Chelsea — over the previous three years he was loaned out to Bristol City, Swansea and Aston Villa respectively — you’ve comfortably got into double figures and helped the club qualify for the Champions League. While your wages remain the same, the club spends a fortune on new signings and gives them very high wages. For example, Werner is on more than three times as much as Abraham.

Inevitably there will be people reading this arguing Werner is at a different level as a player and is being paid accordingly. But it’d be human nature if Abraham felt a little aggrieved that the wage gap is so large. Besides, another contract was agreed with his fellow academy graduate Callum Hudson-Odoi, who was given terms with a base figure of £120,000-a-week (plus bonuses) last year and his contribution has been minor in comparison to Abraham’s.

When Chelsea bought Werner in June, Frank Lampard didn’t seek Abraham out to offer any assurances. The head coach wanted to see how the youngster would react to the increased competition. There was a flash of temper at the start of last month when Abraham argued about taking a penalty against Crystal Palace with Jorginho, the designated taker.

If there was any concern on Lampard’s part about Abraham’s frustration or attitude though, it has been silenced. Despite the significant drop in game time, the 23-year-old is making a difference every time he is on the pitch.

In Chelsea’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Rennes last night, where he actually played through the middle with Werner to his left, Abraham took his tally for the season to three goals and five assists. That’s a goal involvement every 56 minutes. If you include the two penalties he’s won for his team (against Palace and Rennes), it comes down to just under 45 minutes.

His display against the French visitors at Stamford Bridge wasn’t great overall but he kept working and didn’t give up. A trademark run to the near post was rewarded when Reece James fired in a fine cross for him to convert.

The definition of putting it on a plate 🍽

Reece James with the perfect assist for Tammy Abraham! 👌

Chelsea are in control at the Bridge… pic.twitter.com/2wwh0ImqMD

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 4, 2020

Abraham is making his limited opportunities count. Encouragingly, he is forming an understanding with Werner and also another high profile acquisition in attacking midfielder Kai Havertz.

When asked by The Athletic about Abraham’s response to the situation and his form, Lampard couldn’t hide his delight.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “I’ve had numerous conversations with him. I’ve a good relationship with him.

“The qualities Tammy can bring to the team are never short on me. I know what he can bring when he’s at his best. In his last two games, against Rennes and Burnley, we saw him at his best.

“He got his goal (against Rennes) and he deserves it in terms of stretching teams, taking them long, setting off our press, jumping in. He is not happy to just jump five yards but wants to get the team up the pitch as the first man off the ball. Those things are very important for me. Sometimes it’s about the unseen. His goal was the culmination of his performances over the past two matches.”

Keep this up and it could still end up being a positive 12 months for club and country.

(Photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)