Had it not spoken of a wider trend, Tammy Abraham’s omission from Chelsea’s Champions League final squad to face Manchester City would have caused even more of a stir.
Thomas Tuchel opted for Mason Mount, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz in attack, with numerous options on the bench including Olivier Giroud, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi on the bench.
More noteworthy, however, was the inclusion of two substitute goalkeepers – Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero – when there was no space for the England international.
Caballero, a penalty specialist as he showed in the 2016 Carabao Cup final for his old club and European opponents Manchester City, against Liverpool, may have been given the nod with that potential fate in mind.
Yet Tuchel also selected two left-backs among the replacements, Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri.
It will have been a crushing blow for Abraham, who was also left out of the Blues’ squad for the recent FA Cup final defeat to Leicester City.
That was despite the role the 23-year-old played in getting his side to Wembley as top scorer in the domestic cup.
In the Premier League, he has made just 12 starts all season and has featured just seven times since Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard in January – but has scored 12 goals in all competitions this campaign, making him joint top-scorer with Timo Werner.
The German gave him game time in his first match against Wolves – a 0-0 draw – but has since favoured both Werner, Havertz and even Giroud: two big-money signings and an established World Cup winner. Perhaps there is a strain of logic to it.
As far as Abraham is concerned, the thinking will not matter too much. His snub in Porto having been part of the travelling squad casts immediate doubt on his future, with West Ham among the clubs who have been linked with making a move this summer.
Chelsea squad for final
Starting line-up: Mendy; James, Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Chilwell; Kante, Jorginho; Havertz, Mount; Werner
Bench: Kepa, Caballero, Alonso, Christensen, Pulisic, Zouma, Kovacic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Gilmour, Emerson.
Chelsea have never seemed too sure on a player who was only really given his chance to excel under Lampard. In loan spells with Bristol City, Swansea and Aston Villa (admittedly in the lower rungs of English football), he impressed, scoring a total of 53 league goals across those spells.
There ought to be no shortage of suitors at least, if he does move on from Stamford Bridge this summer. It cannot be ruled out that Chelsea, too, will be in the market for a striker, with Werner’s struggles well acknowledged and Havertz struggling to adapt to a new league.
On current evidence, it is hard to envisage Tuchel putting faith in a ready-made replacement, who will have been devastated to travel to Portugal as a mere spectator.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2TtideT
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