Tammy Abraham has been one of the positives in Chelsea’s Pre-season friendly as they look forward to the new season particularly with the opening (Premier)League match against rivals Manchester United.
He’s been impressive alongside Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi in Frank Lampard’s new Chelsea revolution. Tammy’s link-up play (upfront) in the attack has been exceptional for the Londoners as this has earned him the trust of his manager and former Chelsea (goal-scoring) midfielder Frank Lampard. His combination play with center-forward Michy Batshuayi is likened to that of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka who‘ve thrived many years on the Chelsea shirt.
In the match against Barcelona, he was spot on as he was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on a defensive mix-up from the Spanish giants Barcelona. This saw him open the scoring as Chelsea won 2-1 on the day. With his impressive performance, we take a look at two great (Nigerian) legend that his performance level has reminded us of from Chelsea 2-1 friendly victory over Barcelona.
Rashidi Yekini
Tammy has got decent positioning as he was well placed in the central area to open the scoring for Frank Lampard Chelsea side. He was unmarked in the Barcelona box as he finished beyond the
Barcelona goal. It was a special moment for the Blues as his teammates celebrated with him with hope for more in the season.
This is likened to Rashidi Yekini’s predatory instinct and a class act in front of goal as the Legends positioning have been an advantage to the Super Eagles in the past. This got Yekini to score 37 goals for Nigeria. He remains Nigeria’s all-time goal scorer despite the effort of Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Victor Ikpeba, and co who are close to him on Nigeria’s scorer chart. This is a positive one for Tammy as he may have rekindled similar memories of the Nigerian legend Rashidi Yekini with his Barcelona heroics in midweek.
Nwankwo Kanu
This may be profound even beyond Tammy’s positioning as he showed flair and the composure to put the ball in the back of the net to Chelsea’s advantage. The way he rounded the goalkeeper was exceptional even as Kanu is noted for masterminding such closed dribbles during his playing days. Many can recall how Kanu scored a hat-trick against Chelsea as his Arsenal side came from 2-0 down to win 2-3 as at then. Tammy’s composure was evident as this may be adding up for him ahead of the season with hope for more playing time at the Bridge.
That’s the quality Abraham showed against Barcelona and the more reasons why Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) must not relent in his pursuit for Nigeria’s Super Eagles as he scored following that amazing (silky) touch in the box. The goal is similar to that of the Nigerian legend Nwankwo Kanu as Tammy continues to force his way into Frank Lampard’s team selection as the Blues young guns are looking promising ahead of the new season.
