Todd Boehly makes £70.8m Chelsea decision over forward ahead of summer transfer window

There is still a chance Tammy Abraham could return to Chelsea this summer after leaving to join AS Roma in 2021. 

The 23-year-old was sold to the Serie A side following Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in Porto. Abraham signed a five-year contract at Roma in a £34 million deal.

However, as part of the deal for Abraham to move to Italy, a buyback clause was inserted to allow Chelsea to bring him back to Stamford Bridge. 

The fee agreed between the two clubs was £70.8 million which Chelsea would be able to activate from the summer of 2023.

Despite the signing of Romelu Lukaku, they added many other forwards in those two years, Abraham remains on the radar of the Todd Boehly-Clearlake capital ownership, who took over the club in May 2022. 

As reported by The Athletic, Chelsea retain an interest in the England international as they look to resolve the problems in front of goal. 

Abraham, who rose through Chelsea’s Academy ranks, is still highly rated by the club, and his homegrown status is also of appeal. 

After leaving Chelsea initially in 2021 amid a lack of game time under former head coach Thomas Tuchel, Abraham explained his departure to Italy.

He told Sky Sports in October 2021: “I think the easy option would’ve been to stick around and sit down.

“Chelsea’s a massive club, they will compete and try to win trophies so the easy option would’ve been to do that.

“I realised that I needed to go out and prove myself, I needed to play some games. I took a decision and it was the right one.”

Whether or not Chelsea are prepared to pay another huge fee to bring a former player back remains unclear. 

Only time will tell if Chelsea will act on their interest and activate the buyback clause. For now it’s just admiration and Abraham will just be looking to focus on matters on the field until the summer.