Swansea City must look at Aston Villa, Bristol City and Chelsea spells with frustration: View | OneFootball

Swansea City must look at Aston Villa, Bristol City and Chelsea spells with frustration: View | OneFootball

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·30 September 2024

Swansea City must look at Aston Villa, Bristol City and Chelsea spells with frustration: View

Article image:Swansea City must look at Aston Villa, Bristol City and Chelsea spells with frustration: View

Swansea City had Tammy Abraham on loan for the 2017/18 season but never got what other clubs did with the striker

Tammy Abraham has proven to be a reliable goalscorer nearly everywhere he has been so far in his career, but there was an exception to that rule which will irk Swansea City supporters.


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The striker joined Swansea City on loan for their 2017/18 Premier League campaign after enjoying a successful 2016/17 season at Bristol City, where he had his first real taste of senior football and was prolific in front of goal for the Robins.

Expectations were high when it was announced that Abraham would move to south Wales, with the striker seen as one of English football's hottest properties at the time, and while you could argue that he has lived up to expectations, currently playing for a European giant and being a full England international, Swansea didn't quite see that side of him.

The fact that Abraham has scored goals on a regular basis everywhere apart from Swansea will be of huge frustration in hindsight, and they definitely didn't get the best out of the Chelsea loanee.

Article image:Swansea City must look at Aston Villa, Bristol City and Chelsea spells with frustration: View

Admittedly, the 2017/18 season was a difficult one for Swansea City as they were relegated to the Championship, but Abraham struggled for form in front of goal too, and actually struggled for starts too.

He made just 15 starts in the league, with the likes of Jordan Ayew favoured over him, and in his 31 league appearances, he scored just five times.

This was a stark contrast to the 26 goals he had scored in 48 games at Bristol City, and just one of Abraham's league goals came after October.

He did add another three in the cup competitions, taking his tally to eight for the season, but Chelsea would have had real question marks over whether Abraham was good enough for the top-flight after watching him at Swansea, and it spoke volumes that his next loan spell was in the Championship after leaving SA1.

In hindsight, it's clear that Swansea wasn't the best place to send a promising young player at the time, with the club struggling from an identity crisis which meant they struggled for a distinctive style of play, and they based their game off trying to be solid defensively.

The managerial reigns of both Paul Clement and Carlos Carvalhal were a far cry from the days of Swansea playing front foot football under the likes of Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup during their early years as a Premier League side, and it made it difficult for Abraham to perform at his best.

Abraham certainly won't look back on his time as a Swansea City player with much fondness, and it's the only club where he has really struggled for goals.

Article image:Swansea City must look at Aston Villa, Bristol City and Chelsea spells with frustration: View

After scoring 26 goals in 44 appearances for Bristol City, Abraham enjoyed another successful Championship campaign the other side of his season at Swansea, scoring 26 times in 40 games for Aston Villa as they won promotion.

This form saw him rewarded with a much-anticipated first-team chance at Chelsea, and he impressed in his first season as a regular at Stamford Bridge, scoring 18 times, before adding a further 12 goals the following season as they lifted the Champions League title.

A move to Roma followed, and he helped them win the European Conference League in 2022, scoring a decisive goal against Leicester City in the semi-final, and scoring 37 goals across three seasons in total.

He has since made the move to Italian giants AC Milan, where he's set to spend the full season on loan, and it's a far cry from his time at Swansea City, with Abraham having made a bright start to life at the San Siro.

The irony won't be lost on Swansea supporters that Abraham has been a prolific goalscorer everywhere apart from at their club, and they know they never got to see the best of him during his solitary season in south Wales.

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