Chelsea interested in signing star they sold in 2021 by activating his £70.8m buy-back clause in the summer - Reports

Chelsea are reportedly keen on re-signing former striker Tammy Abraham from Serie A side AS Roma this summer.

The Blues sold the 25-year-old striker in the summer of 2021 for a fee in the region of £34 million.

The west London club also inserted a buy-back clause in his contract with Roma worth around £70.8 million. However, the clause can only be activated after two years with the Italian outfit.

It is believed that Chelsea could now turn their attentions to Abraham this summer. This is in a bid to strengthen their striking department, which has largely underperformed this season.

The Blues have only managed to score just 34 goals in all competitions this season, with 24 of those coming in the Premier League.

The west London club are expected to address their goal-scoring issues by signing an out-and-out striker when the transfer window opens this summer.

Meanwhile, Abraham has grown into a more mature striker during his time at the Italian capital. He has so far scored 34 goals and registered 10 assists in 86 games for Giallorossi.

The Englishman has already surpassed his goalscoring tally while at Chelsea in almost the same amount of games (82).

Abraham has so far scored seven goals and registered four assists in 33 appearances for Roma during the ongoing 2022-23 campaign.

It's left to be seen as to whether Chelsea will succeed in their attempt to bring back their academy graduate this summer.

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Chelsea manager hits back at critics of his substitutions against Leeds United

Chelsea returned to winning ways on Saturday (March 4), securing a 1-0 home victory against Leeds United.

French defender Wesley Fofana was on hand to head home a corner kick from Ben Chilwell to give the Blues all three points at Stamford Bridge.

While the win came as a huge relief for under-fire manager Graham Potter, some questioned his choice of substitution in the second-half.

Speaking after the game, Potter responded to questions about his substitutions being too defensive.

"Noni Madueke is on," Potter said. "Carney [Chukwuemeka] is an attacking sub. They were different profiles. Raheem [Sterling] is coming back from an injury, so we had to make those decisions.

He continued:

"The game got stretched and I wanted us to attack but as soon as you miss the opportunity, you need to be stable. We wanted to score the second goal but, at the same time, it was a game against one of the best teams in terms of high intensity in the Premier League.