George Overhill

Thu 9 March 2023 11:55, UK

Tammy Abraham could be set to leave Roma at the end of the season with Everton and Aston Villa at the front of the queue for the striker, la Gazzetta dello Sport reports.

The former Chelsea man has a fixed price €75million [£66.7million] clause in his contract that could see him depart the Stadio Olympico as the Serie A side reportedly need to make capital gains in the summer.

Manager Jose Mourinho has praised the English forward’s contribution to the team, but after a break-out debut season in Italy where he scored 27 goals in all competitions on the way to lifting the Europa Conference League last year he has netted just seven so far in the current campaign.

Without heavier goalscoring output before the end of the season la Gazzetta suggests an exit from Roma could be on the cards in the summer.

And it is considered to be no secret that offers may be on the way from both the Toffees and Aston Villa where he previously spent time on loan.

Outlay

Something else that is far from a secret is the fact that Everton need more help up front so if Abraham is likely to be available it is no surprise that the club would be looking.

But £67million is a hell of a lot of money for a Toffees side that is going to need a number of attacking additions at the end of the campaign, assuming Sean Dyche can even keep them in the Premier League.

For half that price it would look like a solid deal, with Abraham’s quality arguably going under the radar at Chelsea where he scored 30, as their subsequent attempts to find an upgrade have proven.

There is some similarity in height and stature between the Roma man and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also, which might make him an attractive option for Dyche who often likes to have a tall striker in his side and so rarely has his number nine available.

But, while Abraham certainly scores goals, he can be a streaky scorer who also misses his fair share of chances as well, so it could be a risk to shell out a major portion of the transfer budget on him alone and expect him to be the answer.

For almost £70million fans would not unreasonably expect him to solve the issues up front at Goodison Park, and if he goes through a scoring run that he has this season then pressure would quickly ramp up.

However, were Dyche and Kevin Thelwell able to identify a couple of other dangerous attacking options to also come in and share the load there is still a lot to like about 25-year-old Abraham.

Therefore his form over the remaining weeks of the season is going to be watched with interest to see if Mourinho will allow him to leave.