Tuchel explains Abraham absence amid Chelsea exit rumors

Chelsea’s top scorer for this season has struggled to win over Tuchel since the German replaced Lampard as the manager.

Thomas Tuchel has explained Tammy Abraham’s struggles for regular game time amid alleged interest from London rivals West Ham.

Abraham continued where he left off from last season by again topping Chelsea’s goal charts this term. He has so far scored 12 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions, despite a lack of regular action since Tuchel’s arrival in January.

Top scorer last season. Top scorer this season. 145 minutes per goal at Chelsea.

Tammy Abraham deserves more respect. pic.twitter.com/c9u8kYVz6Y

— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) April 5, 2021

The 23-year-old has only played five times, and featured for 213 minutes, in the German’s 16 games so far.

Competition is intense at Stamford Bridge in Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud. An ankle injury, however, has kept him out for several weeks. In fact, Abraham hasn’t made an appearance since a 1-1 Premier League draw at Southampton on February 20.

“Tammy has had a bit of a rough time,” said Tuchel in a press conference ahead of the club’s trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

“He started twice or three times and was twice substituted for tactical reasons at half-time. He could not have the impact he demands from himself and we wish from him.

“Then he was injured and lost a bit the connection and possibility to fight for his place in the squad. The squad has played very well without him, we’ve had a lot of results without him. Now we’re in the decisive part of the season where it’s not so easy to bring players who are injured into the shape.

“We have only three changes, which is a big, big thing. It’s a big handicap because three changes most of the time means you only have two because the last one is one you don’t want to lose too early. So circumstances are not easy, but it’s on Tammy to do everything possible to let him out.

“We have a full squad now. We have 22 players on the training pitch and it’s very, very hard to select the 18 players for Premier League matches.

Tammy Abraham’s record from the start of last season to now:

51 starts
30 goals
12 assists
105 mins per G/A

An excellent two seasons so far. Natural goalscorer. pic.twitter.com/yxouqtFMQ5

— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) April 9, 2021

“We can only change three times but in the offensive position, it is always part to have a huge impact in only some minutes.

“Nothing has changed. We demand a lot of Tammy, he demands a lot of himself, and he is using every minute to convince us that he needs to be on the pitch. From there we go on, and every three days there is a match. Hopefully, he stays fit and plays a key role at the end of the season.”

For details for Chelsea’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace, check out the link below.