Chelsea have had a dodgy start to the season under Frank Lampard. They have shown moments of brilliance, but they haven’t been able to perform at that level for the full 90 minutes. However, one player who has particularly caught the eye is English striker Tammy Abraham.
Lampard showed a big vote of confidence on the Chelsea youngster when he used him as the first-choice striker ahead of the likes of Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud. Abraham played a significant role last season in getting Aston Villa to the Premier League. However, there are always question marks about players (who succeed in the Championship) regarding whether they will be able to perform in the Premier League. The striker has now shown that he can replicate his form even in the English top-flight as Abraham is currently the joint top scorer with Sergio Aguero.
New deal for Abraham on the cards
Latest reports from the Guardian conveys that the Blues have opened up talks with the forward for a new five-year deal which could see his wages more than double up from £50,000. It’s a clear indication that Lampard and the Pensioners are seeing Abraham as a long term strike force for the club and going by his current form, it is no surprise to see this approach from the Europa League holders.
Chelsea’s transfer embargo has pushed them to use young players, and Abraham seems to have taken this opportunity well so far. However, it hasn’t all been rosy for the English forward this season as he missed the decisive penalty in the Super Cup against Liverpool and before that he had missed a sitter in the extra time. His performance against Manchester United was also panned earlier.
Nevertheless, Lampard has continued to back the forward, and the 21-year-old repaid his manager’s faith by producing some terrific performances. The striker managed a hat-trick against Wolves recently who have a decent record against top-six sides ever since their promotion.
Right call from Lampard?
Abraham still has three years left on his deal, so maybe Lampard could take some more time before handing out a new long term contract. However, there is no doubt that Abraham deserves a wage rise after he has shown that he can produce the goods in the English top-flight.
However, once Chelsea’s transfer embargo is over, we expect them to sign a new forward and that striker could very well be a marquee signing. Therefore it would be interesting to see then whether Abraham would really be a long term striker for the Blues. We think that Lampard should wait until December-January before handing him out a long term extension.
