Antonio Conte was off to a decent start to the campaign until he met Liverpool and Arsenal, two clubs that showed the many shortcomings in the squad early this season. The manager made a number of changes to his squad in the summer transfer window to help his side in the race this season. But he will surely be looking back at a couple of decisions that should have gone the other way. One such move that Conte will want to take back is the loan deal for 19-year old Tammy Abraham. The attacker is currently playing for Bristol City and here is how he has performed so far this season in the Championship.
Though not an outright goal scoring striker like Diego Costa is for his parent club, Abraham has been used as a center forward for Lee Johnson’s side who sit in the 5th place, 11 games into the season. The 19-year old has been exceptional so far this season, scoring goals for fun and is one of the most prolific goal scorers in not only his division but also among most leagues in the country. He scored 8 goals and picked up a further 3 assists so far in the league and has also scored another 3 goals in domestic cup competitions showing his confidence and strength in front of goal.
Standing at 6’2”, Abraham has an ariel advantage that he has shown time and again this season and his understanding with his teammates have allowed him to excel in a striker’s role. He scored his first goal for the side in his first start in the Championship this season against Wycombe Wanderers and backed it up with a brace in the next game against Burton Albion, including a last minute winner.
He also scored a couple more against Sheffield Wednesday last month and though it was for a losing cause, it was clear that the 19-year old has what it takes to lead the line for a side in the second tier of English football.
He was named Football League Championship Player of the Month for September and also made it into Aidy Boothroyd’s England U21 squad at the end of the last month and made his first appearance on the 6th of this month against Kazakhstan in a qualifier for the U21 European Championships. He also started the next game against Bosnia & Herzegovina where he scored a couple of goals in his team’s 5-0 mauling on the night. These returns will surely see Conte kick himself for not providing himself with an option to call him back.
Antonio Conte, who spent big on Michy Batshuayi in the summer, decided that the 19-year old should be in the Championship for the entire season. But with the Belgian not really able to impress the manager so far, Conte will not be happy with his decision to not include a recall clause in his contract. However, it will be a good chance for Abraham to prove himself for an entire season and start the next one at the Bridge with loads of confidence.