Tammy Abraham an option for Arsenal, but signing depends on sale of key man

Abraham’s fall from grace

Tammy Abraham has gone from first-choice striker to being frozen out of the Chelsea side in the space of a season.

In 2019/20, the 23-year-old found the net 15 times in 34 appearances for then-Frank Lampard’s Chelsea side, but has not started a Premier League game since Thomas Tuchel’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in January.

And with Chelsea chasing a big-name striker this summer, it appears Abraham’s time in west London could well be over, with West Ham and Arsenal said to be interested in the hitman.

Arsenal’s situation becomes clear

However, according to The Athletic, Arsenal will need to sell players before they are able to make an offer for the Englishman. Currently, Mikel Arteta can call upon Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah to fill the no.9 role.

To bring in Abraham, however, it is thought that two of those will have to leave, with Nketiah and Lacazette the prime candidates. As per the same outlet, Arsenal are “fielding interest from England and Germany” for Nketiah, who has just 12 months to run on his current deal in north London.

Shifting Lacazette, however, may be significantly more tricky. The Frenchman also only has 12 months left on his current contract at the club, and at 30, is likely looking at one more big move in his career. It seems much more likely, in this instance, that Lacazette would seek to let his current deal expire before negotiating favourable terms with a club next summer.

However, if an “appropriate” bid were to arrive this summer, Arsenal would then turn to Tammy Abraham to fill the void left by the Frenchman.