Noel Whelan has offered his thoughts on West Ham potentially beating Aston Villa to the signing of Tammy Abraham...
What's the talk?
Former Premier League forward Noel Whelan has said that Aston Villa target Tammy Abraham would be a fantastic player for West Ham.
Villa and the Hammers are both interested in signing the centre-forward from Chelsea, but Football Insider has revealed that the latter are winning the race at this stage.
Whelan has reacted to this update by explaining why he would be a terrific addition to David Moyes' side.
“If he goes to West Ham, I’m sure he’d be a fantastic player for them.
“He has done so well for Chelsea and when he’s been out on loan Aston Villa.
“He’s a player that can score goals, he can lead the line, work across that 18-yard box, bring people into play.
“He has got a great spring, he’s good in the air and on the deck and he knows where the back of the net is.
“Still very, very young but with a lot of experience under his belt. Anyone that gets Tammy Abraham knows what they’re getting.
They know the energy he will bring, they know that when you get the ball into the 18-yard box, you’ve got half a chance.”
Imagine him and Watkins
Dean Smith must ensure that Villa win the race to land Abraham ahead of West Ham this summer. As Whelan has explained, the England international could be a superb addition to the Hammers' squad and, therefore, bolster their chances of a good finish in the Premier League next season. With Villa potentially competing with them to land European football, this could be a massive blow to Smith's side.
If Abraham arrives at the London Stadium from Chelsea and scores the goals to help West Ham finish above Villa, then the supporters will rightly be frustrated that Johan Lange and Smith lagged behind in the race to sign him.
This is why Villa must seriously pursue a deal for their former loanee, as they could avoid a direct rival strengthening whilst significantly improving their strikeforce.
Keinan Davis scored once in 15 appearances as a striker for Villa last season, whilst the likes of Bertrand Traore and Anwar El-Ghazi were utilised out of position to give Ollie Watkins a rest at times. This suggests that Smith is in dire need of a striker to come in to ease the burden on Watkins, whether that is to play alongside him, compete for his place in the XI or to play when the England international is injured or needs a rest.
In 82 competitive, senior, appearances for Chelsea, Abraham has found the back of the net once every 152 minutes, which is a better ratio than one goal every two games.
He was also directly involved in 14 goals for Chelsea last season, showing that his good form is recent as well as historical.
So, imagine a Villa strikeforce containing Abraham and Watkins? Smith's squad would be overflowing with goals - giving him a great chance of guiding the club back to Europe.
Villa need to get this deal done.
AND in other news, Lange must convince “first-class” £77k-p/w dynamo to join Villa, Smith would love him...