Aston Villa coach John Terry has heaped praise on Tammy Abraham amid the striker’s purple scoring patch in the Championship. The England international joined the Villains on a season-long loan from Chelsea in the summer and he has since been essential to their performances upfront with 19 goals in the second tier.

Speaking on the club’s official website, Terry spoke about the potential of the marksman while giving an example from their time together at Chelsea, he said: “I know him very well having played with him at Chelsea. He's been incredible here. He was the Academy player that when coming over to train with the first team, me and Gary Cahill used to think, 'oh no, here we go!' You knew he was going to come over and put himself about – run the channels, score goals, be hungry, be passionate. As one of the older ones in the group, I just wanted a nice easy day against a middle-aged striker! Tammy always posed a big threat and I knew he'd go on and do well.”

“Abraham’s rich form has spread speculation that the Blues could recall him at the turn of the year“ with the prospect of loaning him out to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League. However, nothing of that sort happened much to the “delight of the Villains“ and it remains to be seen whether the club can propel to the playoff positions by the end of the campaign.

The west Midlands outfit are currently with 42 points on the table and this sees them four adrift of sixth-placed Derby, though the Rams have an additional game in hand. Next up, Villa are scheduled to face struggling Reading on the road and the match should see them come up with the maximum points with Abraham in the form of his life.