Rio Ferdinand insists Tammy Abraham is being treated unfairly at Chelsea in comparison to Timo Werner because he is a younger academy product rather than a new signing.
Abraham returned from an ankle injury suffered at the end of February earlier this month, but has struggled to force his way back into Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI ever since.
The 23-year-old was left out of the FA Cup semi-final win against Manchester City and played just three minutes at the weekend in the win against West Ham, a game which saw fellow striker Werner score his first goal in more than two months.
But the German’s struggles since a £52million summer move from RB Leipzig continued on Tuesday as he missed a golden chance to score in the 1-1 draw at Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
And speaking to BT Sport, former defender Ferdinand believes Abraham – who is still the Blues’ top scorer this campaign with 12 goals – is being treated with less ‘care and understanding’ than Werner because he is a youngster as opposed to a brand-new signing.
‘It’s crazy. A young player, does he get the time that a Timo Werner, new signing gets when they come in?’, Ferdinand said on BT Sport.
‘And they’re not treated with as much care and understanding of their character and cotton wool that a new signing gets.
‘A new signing gets the investment but you’re investing in a young player. A young player adds so much value to a team but they don’t ever get that time or patience that a new signing gets.
‘Tammy wouldn’t get the time Timo gets. He [Werner] scored at the weekend but he missed a sitter at the weekend. He missed another tonight.
‘If you’re Tammy, you’re sitting there going, “Right OK, I’ve got to be playing at least at the weekend to get myself in the shop window for the next game against Madrid.”
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