Aston Villa interested in Chelsea striker - Reports
Aston Villa is reportedly ready to table an offer of £40 million for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham.
According to a report by the Mirror, the West Midlands side is closely monitoring Abraham's situation at Stamford Bridge in a bid to make a move for him.
Abraham has been told he is free to leave Chelsea as he does not feature in the plans of manager Thomas Tuchel.
The likes of Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud are ahead of the England international in the pecking order, while the Blues have also been linked with a summer move for Harry Kane.
The funds received from the potential sale of Abraham could help in offsetting the cost of Kane, who is expected to command a nine-figure transfer fee.
Apart from Aston Villa, West Ham and Crystal Palace are also said to be interested in Tammy, although David Moyes has indicated that Chelsea's asking price is too high for the Hammers to match.
The fee might not represent much of a problem for Aston Villa, who are being backed on a summer spending spree by their wealthy owners.
The Villans recently completed a club-record transfer of Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City and are also primed to receive £100 million from Manchester City for the services of club captain Jack Grealish.
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Tammy Abraham's fall from grace at Chelsea
Tammy Abraham was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Chelsea's transfer ban that forced their hands into using home-grown players.
The striker, alongside other Cobham products like Mason Mount, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori, became a mainstay in the first team.
Erstwhile manager Frank Lampard showed faith in Tammy Abraham in his first season at the helm and was rewarded with a fine display that saw the striker end the season as the club's highest goalscorer.
Abraham's form also saw him become established on the international scene, but things took a drastic turn following Lampard's sacking in January.
Thomas Tuchel was appointed as Chelsea's manager, and the German tactician did not show as much faith in Abraham.
The 23-year-old did not feature at all in the knockout rounds as Chelsea won a second UEFA Champions League crown and only made one start in the Premier League under the former Dortmund manager.
Despite this, Tammy Abraham still ended up as the club's joint-highest goalscorer in all competitions, indicating his underlying ability in front of goal.
A potential return to Aston Villa will see him reunited with Dean Smith, under whom he had the best goalscoring season of his career.
The Camberwell native scored 25 goals in 37 EFL Championship games to help Aston Villa secure promotion to the top-flight in 2019, and fans of the club will still have fond memories of the lanky towering forward.
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