West Ham to trump Villa as surprise new price emerges for England striker

Reports claim West Ham United are the new frontrunners to sign Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham during the summer transfer window as his price tag has plummeted.

The 23-year-old looks set to leave Stamford Bridge after falling down the pecking order under Thomas Tuchel. He enjoyed 25 starts among 34 Premier League appearances in 2019-2020. But Frank Lampard’s removal and the arrival of the German tactician has seen his career hit the buffers.

The Hammers have been linked for some time but seemed to be priced out of any deal when the Blues asked for £40m. Aston Villa emerged as top dogs to land the man with six England caps.

But Villa boss Dean Smith appeared to have second thoughts over the striker’s goalscoring ability. However, the West Midlanders made a U-turn and were thought to be readying a club-record bid for the Londoner.

That report was towards the end of last month and there has been nothing else from Villa Park to back it up. Football Insider are now suggesting that David Moyes’ side has moved ahead of Villa in the race for the talented youngster.

The Scot’s need for a new striker is well known and many names have been mentioned in connection with the East End outfit. But the Abraham link will not go away and they have been given renewed hope.

Chelsea are reportedly prepared to accept £35m and could even go as low as £30m for the Camberwell-born ace. Wolves and Borussia Dortmund are the other clubs thought to be keen on the forward.

More to come from Abraham

Chelsea’s march to the Champions League title means Tuchel’s methods cannot be questioned. He also guided the west Londoners into the top four and they looked a solid unit.

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But Abraham has not become a bad player and scored goals for fun while on loan with Villa in 2019-20. He notched 25 in the Championship while finding the net on 15 occasions for Chelsea the following campaign.

Last season’s return of six was disappointing but he was handed only 12 starts. There is a sense that the best is yet to come and he may add many more caps to his Three Lions record.

He will need a consistent run in the league and a manager who has confidence in his ability. Moyes has shown he can get the best out of players and needs someone to dovetail with Michail Antonio.

The Wandsworth-born star ploughed a lone furrow up front at times, helped by the brilliance of Jesse Lingard. But the former Everton chief wants more options at his disposal with a decent run in the Europa League also a target for 2021-22.

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