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Chelsea's Tammy Abraham: 'I've Always Wanted to Be Like' Didier Drogba
September 11, 2019
Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has said he "always wanted to be like" Didier Drogba, and he is happy "to follow in his footsteps" at Stamford Bridge.
Abraham, 21, has been Chelsea's first-choice No. 9 this season under new manager Frank Lampard.
After failing to find the net in the Blues' opening two Premier League games of the 2019-20 campaign against Manchester United and Leicester City, he scored doubles against Norwich City and Sheffield United:
Abraham has now spoken about idolising Drogba, one of Chelsea's greatest strikers, when he was younger, per Darren Lewis of the Mirror:
"I have so many stories from when I was younger watching him, growing up watching such a talented striker. I've always wanted to be like him, always hungry to score goals. Just looking at him he had that appearance about him. And I've always wanted to add that to my game. So to follow in his footsteps [as the club’s main striker] is always nice."
Abraham joined Chelsea's youth academy in 2004, the same year Drogba was signed for the senior side from Marseille for £24 million.
The Ivorian went on to score 164 goals in 381 games for Chelsea during two separate spells at the club, winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League.
Drogba led the line in arguably Chelsea's greatest side under manager Jose Mourinho, playing alongside Lampard.
Lampard was appointed Blues manager back in July after Maurizio Sarri moved to Juventus.
It is only his second job in senior management following his one season at Derby County last term, when he led the Rams to the Championship play-off final, where they were beaten 2-1 by an Aston Villa side that included an on-loan Abraham.
Lampard has shown his faith in youth so far this season by consistently fielding the likes of Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori.
Abraham celebrated with Lampard on the touchline when he netted his first Premier League goal against Norwich, and the forward hailed his manager for keeping faith in him, per Lewis:
"He's always believed in me. He’s believed in the youngsters and believed in me. A lot of players have downsides to the game but even when I was going for that little spell, he still believed in me, and that goal mean a lot to me. I looked over, I saw him celebrating as well. So I just said to go share my emotions."