Tammy Abraham shelves international allegiance talk to focus on Chelsea success

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has insisted he is purely focused on “living the dream” at club level amid uncertainty over his national team allegiance.

The 21-year-old has started the new Premier League season in fine style, netting seven goals in four starts as Frank Lampard spearheads a new era of youth at Stamford Bridge.

Abraham’s international future: Five things to know

• Abraham has scored seven goals in five games for Chelsea this season.
• The 21-year-old already has two friendly senior caps for England.
• But Nigeria are also believed to have shown interest in the striker.
• Declan Rice recently switched allegiances from Ireland to England despite having three caps for the former.
• Abraham says he will decide his future “when the time comes”.

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His hat-trick at the weekend sealed a 5-2 win for Chelsea away at Wolves – a club he almost joined on loan in January before a deal fell through – and his form understandably has him being talked about as a potential member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

Abraham already has two senior caps for England, although both of them came in friendlies, meaning he could still make the switch to Nigeria if he wishes.

But for now, Abraham is remaining focused on his goalscoring for Chelsea and will cross that bridge when it comes.

“I have heard the talks,” he said of his international future. “I have not really been focused on that yet.

“I think when the time comes, the time comes. It is about focusing on Chelsea and hopefully scoring goals and getting victories.”

Long before a decision needs to be made on his international future, Abraham will have the chance to convert his domestic form to the European stage.

Chelsea kick-off their Champions League campaign against Valencia on Tuesday and although he admits the prospect of playing in Europe’s elite competition still hasn’t sunk in, Abraham says adding his name to the goalscoring charts is the “next target”.

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“That’s the next target, definitely,” Abraham added. “We have another thing to focus on and that’s Tuesday in the Champions League.

“It hasn’t kicked in yet. I have grown up watching big stars playing in the Champions League. To play in it myself would obviously be a dream.

“Players like the gaffer, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and John Terry – great legends – have been there and done it. I would like to follow the same path.”