HE may only be one letter off his brother the England star but Timmy Abraham is determined to make a name for himself at Newport County AFC.
The 20-year-old has made a promising start to his season-long loan at Rodney Parade from Fulham.
Abraham came off the bench to provide energy and a focal point in the 1-0 League Two win at Oldham Athletic before scoring the early goal that beat Ipswich Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup with a deft flick.
After his “instinctive finish”, the forward was swiftly in touch with older brother Tammy, who was on the bench for Chelsea in their Uefa Super Cup win against Sevilla in Belfast on Wednesday evening amid rumours of a big-money move to Roma.
The 23-year-old has won six caps, was the Blues’ joint top scorer last season and is an inspiration for County’s new striker.
“I've been watching him since I was young,” said Timmy. “I've always looked at him as someone I look up to and want to emulate in a way, but I also make my own path as well.
"I feel like there's some things I've taken from his game and some things I feel like I have, so I try to obviously blend them and try and find my own way.
"He speaks to me pretty much every day about what it takes and where I should be in the box and just things like that and we always give each other feedback on how we think we've performed in a game."
Tammy grew thanks to loans spells with Bristol City, Swansea and Aston Villa and Timmy has also spent time learning his trade.
He made his professional debut for Bristol Rovers in the coronavirus-curtailed season and spent last year with Plymouth – playing against County in the EFL Trophy – and Raith Rovers.
Abraham went on trial at Cheltenham in pre-season but didn’t get a chance in League One so instead headed for Rodney Parade.
The forward, who can play on the wing as well as his favoured central role, believes working under Michael Flynn at Newport can help him develop his game.
"He's told me what he wants from me and what he wants from the team so we obviously all have to work hard to get that and hopefully I do my part as best I can,” said Abraham.
“I 100 per cent believe this is a place where I can thrive. The gaffer has told me what he wants and he believes in me and the team. That gives you extra confidence and I feel like this is the time to really kick on.
“I am still getting to know the lads a bit more and feel like every day in training I am getting to know the style so I am looking forward to when we click fully.”
Abraham is set to feature when County return to League Two action at Mansfield on Saturday afternoon after a morale-boosting cup upset at Ipswich, when boss Flynn changed his entire starting line-up.
“It was a very, very difficult game, one of those that you just need to grind out, work hard throughout and not switch off.”
Abraham did that at Portman Road to make an impression on his new boss, who is challenging the forward to stretch defences with his dynamism.
"You've seen the work ethic on him,” said Flynn. “He's raw at times, we know that, but he gives us something different.
“His pace is electric and I've told him if football doesn't work out he can do the 100m because he is that quick.”
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