While Chelsea have enjoyed an absolute turnaround in their fortunes since the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, their number 9, Tammy Abraham has been frozen out of the squad by the German.
“Everybody is concerned when they’re not in the squad but it’s never an easy decision for me to take.
Despite his omission, Abraham is still the Chelsea player with the most number of goals across all competitions.
“I have a lot of sympathy for him and I can understand that he is worried and sad and maybe angry with me when I make these decisions. Sometimes we spend almost an hour talking after the last training which decisions to take and which players we have to leave at home because it’s thin margins which decide.
“Tammy has had this decision now a few times against him which is never personal but this is life at Chelsea sometimes as a player. I hope that he does not get lost in too many thoughts because he knows not to be too concerned about his situation.
Abraham has been out of the squad before, when Giroud has taken over. But right now, Kai Havertz is the player who is being deployed up front in a false 9 position and it is safe to say that Chelsea’s record signing has his manager’s faith.
“Everything he can do is stay focused and stay with belief because the situation for a striker can change in minutes. We have an important training coming up and my decisions are not made yet.”
West Ham United and Leicester City are reportedly scouting the 23-year-old, and should the player ask to leave Stamford Bridge this summer after evading contract talks for a year, a move to either Premier League outfit could be on the cards.
