Abraham ‘buzzing’ after Under-21 call-up

Tammy Abraham says he will savour his call-up to the England Under-21 squad, capping a near-perfect week.

The Chelsea striker, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Sunday, scored his 11th goal of the campaign for Bristol City in a 2-1 in over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

It came after he learnt he would be jetting off to Khazakhstan on Monday with the Under-21s, alongside fellow Blues youngsters Lewis Baker, Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Abraham, who is on a season-long loan at City, was also recently named the Championship player of the month for August and September in recognition of his prolific first few weeks in the West Country.

“I’m so happy to represent my country. I’m going to go there, give it my all, and try my best,” Abraham said.

“Hopefully I’ll get some minutes, but just going there’s a great experience for me, and getting to see a couple of the boys from Chelsea as well gives me a good feeling about myself.

“I was buzzing to be called up. I was just sitting there and just heard it. I was just smiling and felt excited.

“The gaffer [Bristol City boss Lee Johnson] said: ‘One day you’ll get the call up, just be ready for it,’ so I just kept going and kept believing and I’m lucky to now get the opportunity.”

Abraham added: “It has been a great week. Celebrating my birthday and going to meet the Under-21s as well, so it’s a great feeling for me and gives me that extra confidence.

“The player of the month award is also a massive achievement to me and obviously it means a lot to me and my family.

“My parents called me straightaway so I knew they were delighted and I was over the moon really.”

Abraham’s latest goal was typical of his goal-poacher instincts.

He latched on to a stray back-pass and rounded the keeper to bag his eighth Championship goal of the season.

“It wasn’t straightforward,” he said. “When I got the chance, I went round the keeper and just had to keep focused and do the right technique, and luckily I took my chance well

“For a striker, you have to adapt to any kind of situation but luckily I stayed calm and relaxed.”