Tammy Abraham's ageless quality shows Chelsea what they are missing

A little under 200 miles from Selhurst Park, and at around the time Michy Batshuayi was taking his 57th-minute substitution with questionable grace, Tammy Abraham made his own way to the touchline. Abraham’s afternoon was not over; he was simply required to take instruction from the Swansea assistant manager, Nigel Gibbs, who had seen the striker’s goals take them to the verge of victory against Huddersfield and wanted to ensure the final half-hour was managed sensibly. Abraham received the message, offered Gibbs a thumbs-up and ran away beaming. It had, largely through his contribution, been an afternoon to smooth out the frowns around the Liberty Stadium.

There is increasingly a suspicion that Abraham may have been capable of bringing similar relief to Chelsea. His two close-range finishes on Saturday brought up four league goals since arriving on loan for the season and his manager, Paul Clement, was quick to point out afterwards that there are few players doing a similar job.

“What you don’t see is many 19-year-olds playing in the Premier League and scoring goals,” Clement said. “Which other teams have got 19-year-olds playing up front? There’s not many; there’s a couple.”

Clement had clearly forgotten to wish Abraham a happy 20th birthday two weeks ago but the point is unaltered. Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison are the other players of that age making similar waves but both are from a different mould from Abraham, who is as close to a traditional No9 as modern academies produce and is looking stronger by the week. Last season, during a loan in the Championship with Bristol City that brought 26 goals, Abraham would sometimes appear insubstantial when not displaying his rare poacher’s instincts; it was a consequence of youth but he is filling out now and Clement believed his all-round performance against Huddersfield was his best yet.

“He’s very quick but I felt over previous games that he was a little static and needed to attack the back of defences more, which I thought we saw in this game,” Clement said. “He’s a big boy but sometimes you’re up there against two central defenders, one coming really tight and aggressive and the other one as cover, so how can you be better at holding the ball up? There were signs of that improving as well today.”

It remains a vital quality in a centre-forward and the way in which the 6ft 3in Abraham shouldered a hefty burden against Mathias Jorgensen and Christopher Schindler suggested that, had he been spared a place in Chelsea’s 34-strong cadre of loanees, he would have let nobody down at a time when striking options are thin. Batshuayi certainly has some quality but remains mercurial; Abraham is fast developing a capacity to absorb the blows before dealing a few of his own.

“He’s confident and has a lot of belief in his ability,” Clement said. “I got a sense of that the first time I met him. That’s a good thing; if you’ve got talent, physical attributes and are confident as well, you’ve got half a chance.”

Clement also praised Abraham’s defensive work, pointing out that Swansea are “the kind of club that can’t carry anybody”. It is tempting to suggest Abraham may soon be carrying them at this rate but the benefits of this season should be mutual and may extend as far as the England Under-21 international’s country, too.

“Yeah, why not?” Clement replied when asked if Abraham could receive a senior call-up. “The most important thing is he’s getting experience with us. He’s a Chelsea player, he’s with us for the season and he’s got a great opportunity to make that next step. Maybe we can help him do that by playing at his parent club, and from there maybe he’ll be recognised at that level.”

The parent club might be asking themselves now whether Swansea’s assistance was, in this case, genuinely necessary.