Southampton have made an enquiry for Tammy Abraham as they step up their interest in the Chelsea forward, according to Eurosport.

The 23-year-old featured in 34 Premier League games last season, scoring 15 top-flight goals for the Blues.

Game time has been harder to come by this term, though. Since the departure of Frank Lampard in January, Abraham has struggled to establish himself in Thomas Tuchel's starting line-up.

He has started just one of Chelsea's last five league matches, and was left out of the squad altogether for the side's 0-0 stalemate with Manchester United on Sunday.

This has led to other clubs appearing to sense an opportunity to sign Abraham, with West Ham also reportedly keen on the striker.

One potential stumbling block for the Saints could be Abraham's wages. The England international is currently earning just over £80,000-a-week, although he is said to believe he should be on £120,000-per-week, whilst Southampton's highest earner Fraser Forster is on approximately £75,000-a-week.

It is suggested, therefore, that the club would likely have to break their wage structure to secure Abraham's services.

GIVEMESPORT's Sam Brookes says...

Bringing in Abraham would be a wise move from the South Coast club. The side's top scorer Danny Ings has just over a year remaining on his current deal, meaning that he could go elsewhere in the coming months.

Could Abraham fill Ings' boots? It would be a tough task, but he has shown enough at Chelsea to suggest that he is capable.

Much like Abraham, Ings had an excellent 2019/20 campaign, scoring 22 league goals. However, that number has dropped to eight so far this season, just two more than Abraham's total, and he has missed five games through injury.

Ings has previously had two serious knee injuries as well, illustrating that his body has let him down in the past and could do so again. 

Abraham's scoring record certainly isn't to be sniffed at - albeit many of his appearances coming in the Championship, his career return stands at 90 goals in 207 outings.

Perhaps the bigger concern is style of play. Ralph Hasenhuttl demands his side to press from the front and constantly put defenders under pressure, whilst Abraham is more of a pure finisher in the penalty box.

Still, he has developed his game at Chelsea to prove that he can compete with the likes of Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud. It seems that he relishes a challenge, so adapting his approach to take over Ings' role may be something he embraces.