Former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has revealed what Jose Mourinho said to him this summer as he tried to persuade him to leave Stamford Bridge for Roma.
The former Blues ace had been struggling for playing time under Thomas Tuchel, but is now back in the England squad after making a fine start to life in Serie A.
Abraham is clearly pleased with the move he made, and says he is enjoying life under Mourinho, who clearly had a key role in persuading him to leave London for the Italian capital.
Speaking to the Times, Abraham revealed that the first thing Mourinho said to him during transfer talks was a joke about escaping the English weather.
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“The first thing he said to me was, ‘Do you want to enjoy some sun or stay in the rain?’” Abraham said. “I laughed. At first I did not think much of it. I wanted to be in the Premier League and I wanted to stay here. It was home.
“I had to open my wings a bit and make a choice and I chose Italy and would not change it.”
He added: “I could see where he (Mourinho) wanted Roma to go and I wanted to be part of the process.
“He is a good man and has helped me a lot so far. I have learnt so much tactically — as much as I have in my entire lifetime. Jose said the fans would be looking at me to bring some life into the team.
“I knew from the get-go there were going to be a lot of eyes on me. I had to give good first impressions and that’s what I’ve done.”
Chelsea fans may well have some regrets about Abraham leaving after seeing his improvement at the Stadio Olimpico.
With hindsight, it perhaps seems a strange move to have let the 24-year-old move on whilst keeping the under-performing Timo Werner.
CFC have let talented young players like Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne leave in the past, and it ended up coming back to haunt them in a big way, so they’ll hope the same isn’t about to happen with Abraham as well.