West Ham leading race to sign ex-Chelsea forward

West Ham are leading the race to bring former Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham back to the Premier League.

Julen Lopetegui has made the signing of a striker his focus for the summer transfer window, with West Ham searching for a long-term replacement for the ageing Michail Antonio and Danny Ings.



 

Abraham is a player of interest for the Hammers and Roma are open to his sale this summer, as the Italian side look raise funds for Daniele De Rossi’s rebuild after missing out on Champions League qualification.

The 26-year-old has struggled to build upon a brilliant first season in Rome that saw Abraham score 27 goals in all competitions and win the Europa Conference League in 2021-22. He struggled to replicate that return the following season, scoring just eight league goals, before missing much of last season with an ACL issue.

Abraham could be open to a Premier League return as he looks to force a route back into England contention, having not been capped for the Three Lions since June 2022.

Roma will set an asking price of €30m (£25.2m) according to Italian outlet Gazzetta, though could accept an offer closer to €25m (£21m) as the club look to offload Abraham’s salary from their wage bill.

Aston Villa have also been mentioned as a potential destination for Abraham as Unai Emery looks to bring in competition for Ollie Watkins ahead of their Champions League campaign. The England international had a successful loan spell at Villa Park in 2018-19, in which he scored 26 goals in 40 appearances to fire Villa to promotion to the Premier League.



 

Tottenham have also been linked, though are behind West Ham and Villa in the race to sign the striker.

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