According to reports, Aston Villa remain "admirers" of Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and they are keeping tabs on the former Villans' loanee.

What's the story?

The England international would be a familiar face at Villa Park having played under Dean Smith during the club's time in the Championship, and his future at Stamford Bridge appears to be uncertain.

The Daily Star claim that the "Blues have yet to open contract talks with the 23-year-old, who is waiting to see whether they firm up their interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland."

The report adds that West Ham have got Abraham on their list of potential striker targets, with Villa name-checked as "admirers" too.

 Dean Smith loves him

Having scored a mammoth 26 goals in 40 games during Villa's Championship season in the 2018/2019 campaign, it's no surprise that Smith has waxed lyrical about the striker.

Speaking after he netted against Swansea, the Villa boss said: "Tammy is a handful and he knows better than me that he should have been walking away with the match ball tonight. But he scored the winning goal, he’s a hell of a talent. Tammy put in a hell of a shift up front on his own and proved he is a fine player."

Called the "real deal" by former Villa boss Tim Sherwood, Abraham's previous experience in working with Smith would surely see him hit the ground running at Villa Park.

The £36m-rated star has since had plenty of experience playing Premier League football, and has shown he can handle the step-up just like Villa have - last year saw him bag 15 goals in just the top-flight alone as he led the line for Chelsea, while he's netted six in 20 games this season.

It's no surprise that Villa seem interested in Abraham, even now.