Arsenal and Chelsea have been handed a major blow to their respective summer projects following AS Roma's decision regarding the future of Tammy Abraham. 90min have reported that the Italian giants are willing to offer the 24-year-old striker a new contract ahead of the upcoming transfer window, in a bid to ward off interest.
The Cobham graduate has enjoyed a rich vein of form since swapping Stamford Bridge for Stadio Olimpico, relishing the stewardship of Jose Mourinho. He featured 53 times for Roma across all competitions this season, directly contributing towards 32 goals.
Abraham's impressive displays have seen him find the net more than any other English striker in a Serie A season ever. With the help of the former Chelsea boss, Abraham has flourished in Italy and left the Blues to rue his departure.
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So much so that the England international has worked his way onto Mikel Arteta's radar ahead of the transfer window, with Arsenal set to lose Alexandre Lacazette in the coming weeks once his contract at the Emirates Stadium expires. football.london understand that Abraham is among the shortlisted profiles who could arrive at London Colney this summer.
football.london also understand that the striker has been given an £80 million asking price by Roma. This is the same price as the buy-back clause inserted in his contract by Chelsea after he left the club at the end of last season, meaning that any fee can be matched by their Premier League rivals.
However, while the Gunners and the Blues may - or may not - have been hopeful of landing Abraham, a potential new contract for the Englishman will serve a damning blow. Though, when speaking ahead of Roma's Europa League semi-final against Leicester, Abraham spoke about a potential transfer and kept the door open to a move.
When asked about a move away from the Italian giants amid the interest shown in him, he said: "I’m happy playing my football. Of course, you hear the little rumours here and there, different people interested, clearly for me I’m doing the right thing if people are watching.
"Give credit to my teammates, the staff, the manager, they have a big part to play in how well I’m doing. For me, like I said, I just want to go all the way and hopefully win a trophy."
"I was born and raised in England, so of course there are many rumours here and there that there’s clubs interested," Abraham added. "Like I said, I’m clearly doing something right at Roma if people are interested.
"I just have to stay focused, keep doing my thing, keep playing my football, focus on this competition, where we finish in the league, and we’ll see what happens in the future."
