The off-and-on summer transfer saga of Nigerian-born striker, Tammy Abraham eventually came to a close on Sunday, as the lanky lad moved from Chelsea of England to AS Roma of Italy, megasportsarena.com reports.
In making the move to the Rome-based Italian Serie A club, Abraham is teaming up with his former coach at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, who personally intervened to convince the star over making the switch.
Talks progressed positively after Roma general manager Tiago Pinto met the striker in London on Thursday, and the Serie A side believe he will be a key part of Mourinho’s plans.
Consequently, Abraham is expected to sign a five-year contract worth £4m a year after tax, after he completed a medical ahead of joining Roma for a total package of £34m.
Chelsea will have €80m buyback option on the 23-year-old, which can be triggered in the summer of 2023, with the possibility of a fourth comeback at Stamford Bridge.
He had previously been on loan at Bristol City, Swansea City and Aston Villa, which he helped gain promotion two seasons back and gained England international status as top scorer in the Championship.
However, Abraham fell out of favour at Chelsea once Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, despite finishing last season as the club’s joint-top scorer with 12 goals.
The arrival of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for a club-record £97.5m pushed the player further down the pecking order and all but ended the possibility of him staying in the Premier League.
Arsenal also expressed an interest in Abraham, but Chelsea’s preference was always to sell him to a club outside England, but Mourinho’s intervention eventually paid off, even as Roma face competition from fellow-Serie A side, Atalanta.
Italian transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano disclosed that Chelsea will receive €40m (£34m) from the Englishman’s sale, and he will undergo his medical in the coming days before putting pen to paper on a deal.
Sportsmole.com added: “Abraham prepares to leave Chelsea after scoring 30 goals and setting up 12 more in 82 games for the club, and he was an unused substitute in Saturday’s opening-day Premier League win over Crystal Palace.
“Arsenal were also rumoured to be in the running for Abraham, but the striker reportedly did not receive any offers from Mikel Arteta’s side, and Chelsea are understood to have inserted an €80m (£68m) buyback clause into his Roma contract.”
