"Jose [Mourinho] has told me just to be a monster," Tammy Abraham said, via Eurosport, back in November 2021, just months in to his time at AS Roma. "I think one of the things he said was that I was too much of a nice player and that you have to show aggressiveness as a striker as you're getting older.
"It's not always about being nice on the pitch. You need that character, you need that presence to frighten defenders and I think that's something I'm learning and getting better at.
"It's always tough when you move to experience a different country and different culture. I felt the sooner I settled in the better and started learning different types of football and different styles."
READ MORE: Tammy Abraham makes honest Roma statement amid Arsenal and Chelsea transfer rumours
More than 180 days later from that interview and it seems as if Abraham has somewhat answered Mourinho's call. The former Chelsea striker, who left the club in the summer of 2021 for around £36million to join Roma, netted his 16th and 17th goals of the Serie A season in the club's final game on Friday evening against Torino.
The two goals ensured Abraham has now scored more in a season than any other English player in the Italian top-flight. He is loving life in Rome and it's clear to see why.
"I love this club," Abraham said to DAZN, via GOAL, when asked about a possible return to England in the future. "They have given me the opportunity to show myself, my heart is here. We'll see what the future holds, but my heart is here.
"Like I've always said, I fell in love with this club from the first day and I will always help the team as much as possible with my goals and assists. It's been a good year for me, I hope to build on this year and hopefully we can finish with a trophy and it can be the perfect year."
Abraham's gain, though, looks to be Chelsea's pain. Thomas Tuchel barely gave the England striker an opportunity when they worked together at the Blues and he is now flourishing in a new chapter of his career.
Speaking just days before Abraham completed a switch to Roma in August of last year, Tuchel admitted that he did not trust the striker as much as some of his other players and he had good reason to be unhappy. "He has reason not to be happy after the lack of game time last season but it's maybe also my fault for not trusting him as much as other players," the Chelsea head coach said.
Some people do not think Chelsea and Tuchel made a mistake by letting Abraham leave, though. One of those people is former Liverpool star John Barnes.
Speaking to BonusCodeBets, Barnes said this in March: "Chelsea didn't make a mistake by letting Tammy Abraham go, despite the fact he's scored more than all their strikers combined this season. Abraham wasn't scoring for Chelsea.
"Just because a player is doing well elsewhere doesn't mean a club made a mistake in letting them go. Obviously, the club he's currently at, Roma just suits him more.
"Arsenal didn't make a mistake in moving Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on, just because he's scored six goals in seven games for Barcelona. It just wasn't happening for Tammy at Chelsea."
