Seven Brits who thrived when playing abroad as Tammy Abraham finds form at Roma

Tammy Abraham has hit the ground running at Roma after leaving Chelsea to join the Italian club in the summer.

Abraham, 23, waved goodbye to the Blues after being deemed surplus to requirements by Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

Roma forked out £34million to prise the England striker away from west London, and he is already performing well as the focal point of Jose Mourinho's attack.

In his first six outings for the Giallorossi, he has registered three goals and two assists – including the winning strike in Thursday's 1-0 victory over Udinese.

And amid Abraham's impressive form out in Italy, we've taken a look at seven other Brits who thrived while playing abroad.

Steve McManaman

After nine years at Liverpool, McManaman joined Real Madrid in 1999 at a difficult time for the Spanish club, who were riddled with debt and political infighting.

However, the England midfielder was an instant hit at the Bernabeu, setting up a late equaliser on his debut and scoring on his home bow.

He went on to make 158 appearances for Los Blancos, scoring 14 goals and winning two Spanish titles, as many Champions Leagues and the UEFA Super Cup.

Which British player do you think enjoyed the greatest success abroad? Let us know in the comments section below.

Chris Waddle

The England winger made over 500 appearances for Newcastle, Tottenham and Sheffield Wednesday, but it was out in France where he enjoyed his greatest success.

Marseille paid £4.5million to sign him from Spurs in 1989, a record fee for a British player at the time, and he quickly earned the nickname 'Magic Chris' while helping them storm to Ligue 1 glory in his debut season.

Waddle then enjoyed the best campaign of his career after returning from the 1990 World Cup, picking up another league title and earning a place in the FIFA World XI while reaching the European Cup final.

After winning Ligue 1 again the following year, he departed with a tally of 27 goals and 36 assists in 137 games.

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Glenn Hoddle

One of the most technically gifted English players of all time, Hoddle called time on his 12-year stay at Spurs to join Monaco in 1987 and got off to a flyer, winning the league title and being voted foreign player of the year in his debut campaign.

The midfielder bagged 20 goals in 47 games the following season, helping Arsene Wenger's side reach the European Cup quarter-finals, only for the final two years of his spell to be ruined by injury.

He departed the club with a return of 30 goals in 87 games and secured a move back to England with Swindon.

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Kevin Keegan

Keegan raised eyebrows when he left English champions Liverpool in 1977 to join Hamburg, who hadn't finished higher than sixth in Germany's top flight for the last two decades.

The England forward initially struggled at the club, with a red card for punching a player in a mid-season friendly earning him an eight-week ban, but he turned it around and eventually scooped the Ballon d'Or award that year.

His tally of 17 goals in 34 games helped Hamburg clinch the Bundesliga title the following season, and earned him another Ballon d'Or, before he played a key part in their run to the European Cup final a year later.

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John Charles

The Welsh star was one of the very first Brits to play abroad, completing a £65,000 switch from Leeds to Juventus in 1957.

He spent five successful years in Turin, bagging an impressive 105 goals in 179 appearances while winning three Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia. He also clinched the Golden Boot in his debut season by netting 28 goals in 34 league games.

Charles' stint at Juve was so impressive that he was voted their best ever foreign import in 1997, beating the likes of Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane to the award.

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Gareth Bale

Arguably the most successful British star overseas, Bale secured a world-record £85million transfer to Real Madrid after developing into one of the best players on the planet at Tottenham.

He got off to the perfect start in his debut season, netting 22 goals in 44 appearances and getting on the scoresheet in their Champions League triumph over Atletico Madrid.

The Wales ace is still a Madrid player to this day, with two Spanish titles, one Copa del Rey and another three Champions League victories under his belt, along with an overall return of 106 goals in 254 games.

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Paul Lambert

The Scottish midfielder left Motherwell upon the expiry of his contract in 1996 and was snapped up by back-to-back Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund, having impressed manager Ottmar Hitzfeld in the previous season's UEFA Cup.

In his maiden campaign at Signal Iduna Park, Lambert played a crucial role in Dortmund's historic Champions League triumph, shutting down Manchester United in the semi-final and thwarting Zinedine Zidane in their final win over Juventus.

He set up their opening goal in that victory, and after becoming the first Brit to win the European Cup with a foreign team he returned home to Scotland 18 months later with Celtic.

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