Villa sign striker Abraham for £18.25m

England striker Tammy Abraham has completed an £18.25m return to Aston Villa from Besiktas.

The 28-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half year deal at the Premier League title challengers, as he moves back to England for the first time since joining Roma in 2021.

Abraham was on loan at Besiktas from Roma, but the Turkish club activated their buy option on Monday for £11m, so Villa will pay the fee of 21m euros (£18.25m) to them.

Villa boss Unai Emery had been looking for a striker to support Ollie Watkins and has a long-standing interest in Abraham, who had a loan spell at the club in 2018-19 and helped them seal promotion from the Championship.

Teenager Villa midfielder Yasin Ozcan, who has been on loan at Anderlecht this season, is joining Besiktas as part of the deal.

Roberto Olabe, Villa's president of football operations, flew to Turkey to watch Abraham play as Besiktas beat Kayserispor 1-0 last week.

The forward could feature against Brentford on Sunday but is not registered to play in Thursday's Europa League game against Red Bull Salzburg.

Meanwhile, former Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz is set to return to the club on loan.

The 27-year-old Brazilian is currently on loan on Nottingham Forest, from Juventus, but is set to leave the City Ground before Monday's transfer deadline.

Villa are third in the top flight - four points behind leaders Arsenal - after Sunday's 2-0 win at Newcastle.

Serie A and European success

Abraham moved to Roma in August 2021 from Chelsea for £34m and scored 27 goals in his debut season as the Italian side won the Conference League.

His 17 Serie A goals made him the highest English scorer in a single league campaign in Italy.

Nine goals in 54 games followed in 2022-23, but an anterior cruciate ligament injury on the final game of the season kept him out for 10 months.

On his return Abraham made 12 appearances, scoring once, then joined AC Milan on loan in 2024 after Jose Mourinho, who had brought him to Roma, left the club.

He scored 10 goals in 44 games in all competitions for Milan but made just 12 league starts and returned to his parent club at the end of last season.

In total, Abraham made 120 appearances for Roma, scoring 39 goals, before joining Besiktas last summer.

He netted 12 goals in 24 games for the Turkish Super Lig club and leaves with them fifth in the table.

Analysis: Abraham takes wage cut to join Villa

It is not the first time Villa have tried to re-sign Abraham - they remained interested in him and were at the table when the striker previously moved.

However, in 2021, when Abraham opted to join Roma, Villa were not the club they have since been transformed into by Emery.

Abraham also turned down Arsenal on that occasion, as he viewed Roma's project under Mourinho as the ideal platform to progress - and the forward's time in Serie A should be viewed as a success.

One of the key factors behind his decision to return to the Premier League is a desire for an England recall, with this summer's World Cup looming.

Abraham has not played for his country since starting against Italy in the Nations League in 2022 - and would have remained on the periphery if he stayed in Turkey.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has rediscovered his form in the Premier League for Leeds -so if Abraham can hit the ground running under Emery it could put him back in the selection conversation, almost four years since his last cap.

Abraham also has two young children and the lure to return home for personal reasons was strong.

Chelsea had a buy-back option, but with the change of ownership at Stamford Bridge that was never on the cards.

He has taken a wage cut to join Villa, underlining his commitment, and having won the Champions League and Conference League he has the chance to complete a European hat-trick in the Europa League with his new club this season.

The return to Villa Park is seen as perfect timing, even if it has come sooner than expected and just six months into a spell at Besiktas.

But Emery's plan and vision for the striker convinced him - not that he needed much persuading.

Abraham enjoyed his time in Turkey but the opportunity to return to the Premier League - and Villa - was ultimately too good to refuse.