Southampton: Abraham signing would be shades of Pelle | OneFootball

It has been suggested recently that Southampton could look to sign Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham in the summer transfer window and if he were to join the Saints, it would be a deal similar to the one that saw Graziano Pelle join the club in 2014.

According to EuroSport, both West Ham and Southampton have made tentative enquiries about signing the England international, who has struggled for game time under Thomas Tuchel since the German was appointed manager of the Stamford Bridge outfit.

The report suggests that with Chelsea targeting Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland ahead of the summer window, opportunities would be few and far in between for Abraham next season.

Therefore, a move away could be on the cards for the £36 million-rated forward, and Southampton would presumably be able to offer him regular football if he were to make the move to St Mary’s.

Southampton have had some great target men strikers in the past decade, with Rickie Lambert and Pelle two of the very best, but it is something they have arguably lacked under Hasenhuttl.

Danny Ings and Che Adams have lead the line for the majority of the past two seasons, and whilst both work extremely hard, neither are particularly strong in the air, so Abraham would definitely offer something different if he were to join.

The 6 foot 3 striker has been prolific in recent seasons, first on loan with Bristol City in the 2016/17 campaign, where he hit 26 goals in 48 appearances for the Robins.

After a disappointing spell with Swansea in the Premier League, he found his shooting boots once again with Aston Villa, notching 25 goals in 37 appearances on their way to promotion.

He then grabbed 15 Premier League goals with Chelsea last season under Frank Lampard and has now made six appearances for England as he continues to impress in the top-flight.

Therefore, there seems little doubt that he would score goals should he join Southampton in the summer, and he could prove to be similarly effective to the 6 foot 4 Pelle, who was superb in his time on the South Coast.

The Italian contributed 30 goals and 10 assists in 80 appearances for the Saints, before moving to China in 2016, so he is fondly remembered by a lot of Southampton fans.

So, if Martin Semmens can convince Abraham to join this summer, then it would be a deal reminiscent of the one that saw them sign Pelle, and hopefully, the 23-year-old would be as impressive as his Italian predecessor was in Southampton colours.

And, in other news… Forget Tella: Saints beast who played 4 key passes was Hasenhuttl’s star vs SHU – opinion