Goalden boy
Tammy Abraham’s hot scoring streak at Bristol City has even surprised Chelsea coach Adi Viveash
England Under-21 striker has already hit nine Championship goals in season-long loan away from Stamford Bridge
CHELSEA under-23 coach Adi Viveash has admitted even he did not expect Tammy Abraham to make an instant impact in the Championship.
The England Under-21 striker has hit 12 goals in 20 games on loan at Bristol City so far this season.
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Abraham, 19, has been a prolific scorer in the Blues youth teams since the age of seven and signed a new deal in October 2015 which ties him to the club until June 2019.
The Londoner made his Chelsea debut as a sub at Liverpool in May and played the last 37 minutes against champions Leicester.
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But those cameos in the final two games of last season gave little indication of how quickly the 6ft 2ins goal machine would settle into his first campaign in senior football at Ashton Gate.
He is the second top scorer in the Championship, behind Newcastle's Dwight Gayle, with nine goals and has also weighed in with two assists.
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Viveash said: "You could not envisage Tammy hitting the ground running like he has.
"But what Tammy has is a massive enthusiasm for the game.
"He just loves playing football and he loves scoring goals.
"You can see that by the goals he scores - though we have reminded him that most of them are tap ins, but that does not really matter.
"He is a top kid, he is a very nice kid Tammy, and he will be learning a lot about Championship defenders."
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Viveash is in the dark about what Chelsea's plans for Abraham are. He has no idea if he will be part of Antonio Conte's first-team squad or if he will go on loan again, possibly at a Premier League side or to Dutch feeder club Vitesse Arnhem.
But what he does know is that Abraham's days as a development player in Chelsea's Under-23 squad are over.
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He added: "I don't know where Tammy will be next season, those decisions are not for me to make.
"He has passed through my programme now, that is for the powers that be to decide those things."
Abraham's form has not gone unnoticed by the powers that be, and in particular boss Conte.
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The Italian hinted in October, prior to the EFL Cup defeat at West Ham, that the loanee will be part of his plans next season.
He said: "Abraham is another young player who is the future for Chelsea, for sure.
"He's very young. I saw him only one week during the pre-season in America.
"Then we decided to send him to play every game and get experience, then come back for us.
"He has great potential in the technical and physical aspects."
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