Tammy Abraham signed on-loan for Swansea from Chelsea this summer (Picture: Getty)
Tammy Abraham signed on-loan for Swansea from Chelsea this summer (Picture: Getty)

Tammy Abraham admits he was so starstruck by Jose Mourinho he used to take pictures of the former Chelsea manager at the club’s training ground.

The pair worked together during Mourinho’s second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, but the England Under-21 international only made his senior debut for the west London club after Mourinho’s controversial sacking.

Abraham signed on-loan for Swansea earlier this summer after a sensational breakthrough year at Bristol City in the Championship and will come face-to-face with his old mentor on Saturday when Paul Clement’s side take on Manchester United.

‘When Jose Mourinho was Chelsea manager the first time around, I was a young boy and I took pictures of him when I saw him at the training ground,’ Abraham told Jack Magazine.

‘During his second spell in charge, I trained with the first team quite a few times.

Tammy Abraham has been prolific for Chelsea at youth level (Picture: Getty)
Tammy Abraham has been prolific for Chelsea at youth level (Picture: Getty)

CHELSEA TRANSFERS IN

Willy Caballero (free, from Manchester City), Antonio Rudiger (£34m, from Roma), Tiemoue Bakayoko (£40m, from Monaco), Alvaro Morata (£60m, from Real Madrid)


CHELSEA TRANSFERS OUT

Juan Cuadrado (£17m, to Juventus), Christian Atsu (£6.2m, to Newcastle), Dominic Solanke (Compensation, to Liverpool), Asmir Begovic (£10m, to Bournemouth), Alex Kiwomya (free, to Doncaster), Bertrand Traore (£8.8m, to Lyon), Nathan Ake (£20m, to Bournemouth), John Terry (free, to Aston Villa), Tammy Abraham (loan, to Swansea), Alex Davey (released), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (loan, to Crystal Palace), Izzy Brown (loan, to Brighton), Marco van Ginkel (loan, to PSV), Nathaniel Chalobah (£5m, to Watford) Nemanja Matic (£40m, to Man Utd)

‘He gave me some wise words. He said stay focused, keep scoring goals and being hungry and you will get your chance. Luckily I got it towards the end of that season.’

Mourinho has often been criticised for failing to give young players experience and the same accusation has also been levied at his Chelsea successor Antonio Conte.

Pressed on whether he would be more open to giving youth a chance this season, Conte said on Friday: ‘If you remember last season I utilised different young players.

‘Don’t forget Ake, Chalobah and Loftus-Cheek. And also Kenedy and Ainya as well. I think for a club like Chelsea if I have the opportunity to have players ready to play I’m the first person to be happy.

‘But I repeat the players need to grow in the right way or you risk damage to them and the club.’

MORE : Antonio Conte can’t blame Chelsea’s problems on the loss of Nemanja Matic, says Jose Mourinho