England Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd has praised the rejuvenated Tammy Abraham after he helped fired the Young Lions into the Toulon Tournament semi-finals.
The 20-year-old Chelsea striker has scored twice in three group games ahead of Wednesday’s last-four showdown with Scotland.
It comes after he netted just once in the Premier League after October while on loan at Swansea, who were relegated.
But he has rediscovered his scoring touch with England aiming for a third straight Toulon title.
Boothroyd said: “You’re going to have some ups and downs, it’s how you deal with those downs – just like how you deal with it when you’re on a crest of a wave and on top.
“He’ll be fine, he loves football, done really well for us and I’m sure he can write his bit into the story of this tournament.
“His enthusiasm is infectious, everyone likes him. You know when he’s in the room, he’s a real genuine guy.”
Abraham earned two senior caps in November, making his debut against Germany before facing Brazil, after scoring five goals in his first 10 games for the Swansea.
Now back with the Under-21s, he scored a late winner against China and in a 4-0 victory over Qatar last week as England qualified as the best runner-up, finishing second in Group A behind Mexico.
Mexico – who England drew 0-0 with – face Turkey in the other semi-final and Boothroyd feels his side are building momentum.
He added: “The fact we’ve played so well against Qatar…it was a high pressure game as if we hadn’t have won by that many we might not have gone through.
“Some of the performances were outstanding and we would have won by a few more had it not been for the Qatar goalkeeper.”
This post was last modified on 04/06/2018
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'But he has rediscovered his scoring touch with England aiming for a third straight Toulon title' Premier League / Under 21 (any level) Quite different.
Felt sorry for him at Swansea as injuries to other players and management change threw him in at the deep end. The season will have had more of an impact on his character than his skill set, which is a plus of sorts.
Well done Tammy.