Aston Villa have completed the signing of striker Tammy Abraham from Besiktas in a deal worth around £18.2m (roughly €21m). The 28-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract, committing him to Villa Park until the summer of 2030.
The move capped a whirlwind 24 hours in the transfer market. Abraham had spent the first half of the season on loan at Besiktas from Roma, and the Turkish club had only just triggered their option to sign him permanently for around £11.2m before turning around and selling him straight on to Villa at a healthy profit.
For Unai Emery, the signing solves a problem he has been trying to fix for a while. Villa have relied heavily on Ollie Watkins as their central striker, and Emery has wanted a genuine alternative who can lead the line in the same way rather than a squad player who changes the system. Abraham, with his physical presence, movement in the box and Premier League pedigree from his Chelsea days, fits that description, and the club's hierarchy have long admired him.
Besiktas lose a forward who had made an immediate impact after joining on loan in July 2025. He scored a hat-trick on his European debut for the club, in a 4-1 win over St Patrick's Athletic in the Conference League, and went on to score 12 goals in all competitions during his short spell in Istanbul, including seven in the Super Lig. Losing that goal threat just as their season builds towards its business end is a blow, even if the club made money by selling him on so soon after signing him permanently.
Abraham's return to Villa carries obvious sentimental weight. He spent the 2018/19 season on loan there from Chelsea and was central to the side that won promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs, scoring 25 goals in the process. He has not played in the Premier League since leaving Chelsea in 2021, with spells at Roma and on loan at AC Milan in between, so this is also a chance to re-establish himself in England's top flight.
Since arriving in January, Abraham has been eased into Emery's side alongside Watkins rather than instead of him. Emery has used both together at times, saying the pair are competing to improve Villa's attacking third, and has leaned on Abraham as an option to freshen up the frontline or offer a different profile against deeper defences. Early signs are encouraging, with Abraham finding the net in the Premier League and looking sharp in a Villa side chasing Champions League qualification and a strong run in Europe.