How Aston Villa may have been overcomplicating things all along after Tammy Abraham admission
Aston Villa may have had their main striker right in front of them all along with Tammy Abraham.
The Villans have had some issues up top to start the season, and have only scored once in the Premier League so far.
Ollie Watkins' exit was controversial, while the arrival of Nicolas Jackson also raised eyebrows in B6.
Unai Emery welcomed Abraham back in January, as the striker bagged his first brace since returning in a 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Coventry on Wednesday.
But the 28-year-old is yet to start in the Premier League this season and has only racked up 69 minutes of playing time.
However, Abraham's latest admission hits the mark, as his Aston Villa career could yet have another full-circle moment.
How Tammy Abraham can still fulfil Aston Villa prophecy
Abraham was once untouchable in Villa's side, scoring 26 goals in 40 matches during his loan spell at Villa Park in the 2018-19 campaign.
He then went back to Chelsea, scoring 30 times in 79 matches, before netting a combined 47 times for Roma and AC Milan.
The Englishman then netted 13 times in 26 games after moving to Besiktas, where he found his way back to B6 after just a couple of months in Turkey.
Abraham has yet to emerge as Emery's first-choice striker since returning, but could be Villa's main man once again, especially if his recent admission is anything to go by.
The striker said, while speaking to Express and Star: "It is never easy coming into the season, players leaving, players coming in.
“But I feel we are getting to grips with it now, and there is no other place I wanted to be.
“I just wanted to be here and get off to a good start. I want to help the team as much as possible."
Abraham is more motivated than ever and is ready to be Villa's hit-man this season.
That was as clear as day after his performance against Coventry.
Could Abraham's brace vs Coventry restart Aston Villa career?
Abraham hasn't necessarily been poor since rejoining Aston Villa, but he's evidently not done enough to fully convince Emery that he should be starting week in, week out.
The ex-England international earned FotMob's Player of the Match with an 8.8 rating after his brace against Coventry.
Though he only had 20 touches and made just six passes, he buried two of his three attempts on goal, while overachieving an xG rate of 1.24.
Abraham also won three ground duels, made two tackles and one recovery, looking like the player Aston Villa fans remember.
The Villa Park faithful got a glimpse of that when he scored what Danny Murphy described, as highlighted by Read Aston Villa, as a "superb" finish in the dramatic 4-3 stoppage-time win over Sunderland last season.
Abraham has now shown another sign that he can be that man from the past.
The centre-forward has stiff competition with Jackson, but should have left Emery with no doubt over who to start for Tottenham and in the games to follow after the international break.