Tammy Abraham enjoying life after Chelsea and reaps rewards under Jose Mourinho at Roma

Leaving the reigning European champions is a huge call for any player to make, especially if they had been at the club since childhood. But for Tammy Abraham at Chelsea, the time was right.

Last season was the England striker’s last at the club where he had risen up through the academy and into the first team – but he had become a bit-part player under new manager Thomas Tuchel.

The German had masterminded Chelsea's Champions League victory just four months after replacing Frank Lampard, but Abraham didn't play a single minute in the competition under Tuchel and started only three Premier League games.

“Of course it’s difficult when you’ve grown up at a club and you’ve fallen out of favour. It’s never nice,” the 24-year-old told The Athletic, last month.

During the summer, Serie A came calling – specifically AS Roma and manager Jose Mourinho. Chelsea had just forked out £97.5million ($134.7m) to Inter Milan for Romelu Lukaku, and Abraham needed to feel appreciated again.

"You can sense when a club really wants you – and Roma made their interest clear immediately," said Abraham, after completing a £34m ($46.9m) move last August.

"Roma is a club that deserves to be fighting for titles and trophies. I've had the experience of winning major trophies and I want to be in those competitions again.”

Tammy Abraham, right, with teammates after Chelsea beat Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final. Reuters

The inaugural Europa Conference League might not be what Abraham had in mind, but the 24-year-old is one game away from sealing a place in the final and his contribution of eight goals in 12 games has been crucial to that.

Abraham returned to England for the semi-final first leg at Leicester City last week that ended