AC Milan join race for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham
By Tom Gott
AC Milan are keeping a close eye on the situation of Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, who has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Blues are understood to be prepared to listen to offers of around £40m for the 23-year-old forward, who has often struggled to even make the bench following the arrival of new boss Thomas Tuchel.
A handful of Premier League sides have been tipped to move for Abraham, but according to the Evening Standard, they could face competition from Milan, who are interested in snapping up the Englishman this summer.
Milan did just tie Zlatan Ibrahimovic down to a new contract, but relying so heavily on a 39-year-old striker is an obvious risk and current back-up Rafael Leao is yet to really set the world on fire.
In that sense, a move for Abraham makes complete sense, but there's a major problem with this one, and that's money.
Milan already have Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori on the books and have already decided that they want to turn his loan move into a permanent one, but despite being so infatuated by him, Milan are still debating whether they can afford to trigger the £28m option to sign him.
They can't shell out £28m for a player they're in love with, but they're going to offer up £40m for Abraham?
Qualifying for the Champions League would obviously help from a financial point of view, but even that's not a certainty these days. Milan do sit second in Serie A, but they have played a game more than their rivals and could drop to fifth if results elsewhere go against them on Sunday.
If Milan miss out, there's no chance of them shelling out £40m on Abraham, but they might not have the money even if they do qualify. I Rossoneri may have bigger problems to solve, namely in goal, where Gianluigi Donnarumma is perilously close to leaving on a free transfer.
A switch to San Siro seems unlikely, whereas a move across England could be a possibility. West Ham and Leicester have both been named as potential suitors and neither would struggle to meet Chelsea's demands.