Tammy Abraham called up to England squad for upcoming games against Andorra and Hungary
Former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has been given a late call-up to the England squad after his blistering start to life at Roma.
Abraham has hit the ground running under Jose Mourinho in Serie A, scoring four and assisting two more.
And despite not getting the initial call when Gareth Southgate released his squad last Thursday, the 24-year-old’s form hasn’t gone unnoticed as he joined Ben Chilwell, in in place of the injured Reece James, in being added to the group.
Tammy Abraham has received a late call-up to the England squad this month for two qualifiers
Abraham has one previous England goal, coming against Montenegro back in November 2019
Reece James (left) has pulled out through injury and has been replaced by Ben Chilwell (right)
A statement on Monday night read: ‘Ben Chilwell and Tammy Abraham have been added to the England squad for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
‘All players will report to St George’s Park on Tuesday apart from Reece James, who is ruled out through injury.’
Chilwell is a straight swap for James, who was forced off during Chelsea’s recent home defeat to Manchester City due to an ankle injury and missed Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Juventus in Turin and Saturday’s home win against Southampton.
Abraham is not replacing anybody, instead becoming an additional player in the squad – alongside some of his old Chelsea team-mates.
The striker has played 10 times since moving to Roma in a £34million deal from Chelsea this summer, and has quickly become a fans’ favourite.
It is his first England call-up since November 2020, and he will battle it out with the likes of Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins for a place up top.
In his previous England appearances, Abraham has scored once, in a game against Montenegro at Wembley back in November 2019.
The decision comes as something of a surprise given that Southgate was asked about Abraham’s omission last week and admitted it is ‘early stages’ for the Roma striker.
‘Tammy has started well. It’s quite early stages,’ the England boss said.
‘I have exchanged messages with Jose just to keep a track on that. He’s another player who we know has been with us before.
Abraham, pictured scoring for England, has hit the ground running at Roma so far this season
The former Chelsea striker is thriving under Jose Mourinho (left) in Serie A so far this campaign
‘We are probably only talking about six or seven English strikers, really, that are either playing in the Premier League or, as Tammy is, playing in one of the big European leagues.
‘So it’s not a huge pool to cover at the moment. We will keep monitoring those guys really closely.’
England are currently four points clear at the top of their World Cup qualifying group with four games to play and travel to Andorra on October 9 before hosting Hungary three days later.
Abraham got on the scoresheet as Roma cruised to victory over Zorya Luhansk last week
Gareth Southgate had said it was ‘early days’ for the Roma striker, but has now called him up
