Championship pundit Noel Whelan believes Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham should be named the division’s Player of the Year following his standout displays in the club’s shirt. The on-loan Chelsea striker has been hugely influential to the progress to the west Midlands outfit and he has already bagged 25 goals in the club’s push for promotion through the playoffs.

Speaking to the Football Insider, Whelan indicated that Abraham should pip Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki to the Championship Player of the Year accolade, considering he has been the complete centre-forward, he said: “He’s my player of the year. I know Pukki has had a great season but Abraham is the best [striker] in the league and a complete centre-forward.

“He is a young boy who has got everything you want – pace, power, can turn, great in the air, holds the ball up. He has not just scored goals when Villa have been winning, he was scoring when they were struggling as well. He has been exceptional and carried Villa at times, and there’s no doubt he will achieve big things in the game.”

The west Midlands outfit were struggling for form at the beginning of the year and it appeared that they could miss out on promotion for yet another year. However, the club have made a tremendous rise over the past few months and a 10-match winning streak sees them guaranteed of the playoffs with two games to play.

For the final two league games, Villa are scheduled to face Leeds United and Norwich City and they could certainly through the spanner into the hopes of both teams. Leeds are currently holding only an outside chance of securing automatic promotion as they are three points behind Sheffield United, who hold a superior goal difference. On the contrary, Norwich are on the brink of promotion but Villa could yet hamper their prospects of securing the league title. The Canaries are just three points ahead of second-placed Sheffield United after a run of four successive stalemates.


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