Abraham returns to Villa as Emery bolsters title push

England striker Tammy Abraham has completed an £18.25 million move back to Aston Villa, sealing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Premier League title contenders, Sport360NG reports.

The 28-year-old returns to English football for the first time since leaving Chelsea for Roma in 2021. Abraham spent the first half of the season on loan at Besiktas, who exercised an £11m purchase option earlier this week before Villa agreed to pay a reported €21m (£18.25m) to complete the transfer.

Villa head coach Unai Emery had been searching for additional attacking support for Ollie Watkins and has long admired Abraham, who previously enjoyed a prolific loan spell at Villa Park in 2018–19, scoring 26 goals in 40 appearances to help secure promotion from the Championship.

“Some clubs play a big part in your journey,” Abraham said after rejoining the club. “I’ve grown a lot since I was last here. I’m back at Aston Villa and ready to give everything.”

As part of the deal, teenage midfielder Yasin Ozcan, who has been on loan at Anderlecht, will move to Besiktas. Villa’s president of football operations Roberto Olabe travelled to Turkey last week to watch Abraham in action during Besiktas’ 1–0 win over Kayserispor.

Abraham could make his second Villa debut against Brentford on Sunday but is ineligible for Thursday’s Europa League fixture against Red Bull Salzburg.

Meanwhile, former Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz is set for a return on loan. The Brazilian, currently at Nottingham Forest from Juventus, is expected to depart before Monday’s transfer deadline.

Villa sit third in the Premier League table, four points behind leaders Arsenal, following Sunday’s 2–0 victory at Newcastle United.

Career background

Abraham joined Roma from Chelsea for £34m in August 2021 and made an immediate impact, scoring 27 goals in his debut season as the Italian side lifted the Conference League. His 17 Serie A goals that year set a record for an English player in a single Italian league campaign.

An anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered at the end of the 2022–23 season sidelined him for 10 months, limiting his output the following year. After subsequent loan spells, including a season with AC Milan, Abraham joined Besiktas last summer, scoring 12 goals in 24 matches.

Analysis

Villa have tracked Abraham for several years, but his return comes at a markedly different moment for the club under Emery. A key factor in the striker’s decision is understood to be a desire to revive his England career ahead of this summer’s World Cup, having not featured internationally since 2022.

Abraham has accepted reduced personal terms to complete the move, underlining his commitment to the project at Villa Park. With domestic and European ambitions aligned, both player and club view the reunion as timely as Villa continue their push at the top of the Premier League and in Europe.