Tammy Abraham names "beast" defender he fears most after fine start to season

Tammy Abraham has named the central defender he fears most. The Chelsea striker is in line for his competitive England debut in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria having been given an international recall by England manager Gareth Southgate last week. Abraham has scored nine times already this season, however, he failed to score in a 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool at the end of last month and, unsurprisingly, named Virgil van Dijk as his toughest opponent. “He’s a beast,” declared Abraham. “He’s just good at what he does. He’s experienced. I try to do a little… I try to use my tricks in my head but his understanding of the game is top drawer. “It is to do with little things. Movement. My movement in the box, some defenders don’t pay attention to me - they are only focussed on the ball. With him, it’s kind of both, he’s paying attention to me and the ball, knows where I am, knows where I want to go, follows me. It’s quite annoying for a striker - just leave me alone!”

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