When Chelsea academy graduate Tammy Abraham received a phone call in July confirming his place in Antonio Conte’s pre-season squad, the striker was understandably excited.

The 19-year-old had just returned from helping England reach the semi-finals of the Uefa Under-19 Championship in Germany, and was now being given the unexpected chance to impress Chelsea’s new manager.

Little did Abraham foresee how beneficial the trip to Austria and the United States would be.

“Conte looks interested in the youngsters and he spoke to me when I was on the pre-season tour,” says Abraham, who scored 74 goals in 98 games for Chelsea’s youth teams in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons.

“He gave me tactical advice. He told me the right areas to get into and how to adapt to different situations.”

The advice is clearly paying off.

After spending pre-season with the first team, Abraham secured a season-long loan at Bristol City, where the striker has scored 13 goals in 26 appearances and was named the EFL Young Player of the Month for September.

He has made such progress at the Championship club that Conte told this paper in October he expects Abraham to be part of his long-term plans at Chelsea.

The club often send academy graduates on loan to gain experience of regular first-team football.

In fact, Chelsea currently have a staggering 37 players plying their trade elsewhere. Patrick Bamford is one of those — with the 23-year-old already on his sixth loan since joining Chelsea in 2012.

The striker was named Championship Player of the Year in 2015 for his prolific form at Middlesbrough but it was not enough to earn a recall to his parent club and he is now on loan at Burnley.

FACTFILE Born: Camberwell, October 2, 1997 Clubs: Chelsea (Games: 2 Goals: 0), Bristol City (loan) (Games: 26 Goals: 13) Honours: Chelsea reserves, FA Youth Cup (2015, 16) Youth League (2015, 16) Games: 98 Goals: 74 Championship player of month: Sept 2016 England U18-U21 Games: 24 Goals: 9

However, Conte has shown in his first six months at Chelsea he is prepared to give youth a chance — with players 22-year-old Nathaniel Chalobah and Ola Aina, 20, being given their debuts this season.

And that has given Abraham, who was handed his Chelsea debut by Guus Hiddink against Liverpool in May, hope he can buck the trend and break into the first team.

“Conte gives me that belief that when I go back to Chelsea, hopefully, he’ll give me the chance,” says Abraham, speaking on Alex Hunter and The Journey for EA SPORTS FIFA 17. “It’s very motivating for me to know you have that support and you have people who are aware of how well you are doing.

“It gives you confidence to go out there and give your 100 per cent.

“Wherever you go there is always going to be that competition. It’s about how you deal with it. When you give your best, you can’t ask for more.”

The Chelsea players out on loan 35 show all The Chelsea players out on loan 1/35 Tammy Abraham Bristol City Chris Brunskill/Getty Images 2/35 Mukhtar Ali Vitesse Arnhem Getty Images 3/35 Victorien Angban Granada ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images 4/35 Abdul Baba Rahman Schalke Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images 5/35 Lewis Baker Vitesse Arnhem GETTY 6/35 Nathan Baxter Solihull Moors Chris Brunskill/Getty Images 7/35 Jamal Blackman Wycombe Wanderers SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images 8/35 Jeremie Boga Granada Getty 9/35 Izzy Brown Rotherham Ben Hoskins/Getty Images 10/35 Andreas Christensen Borussia Monchengladbach (second year of two year loan) Alexander Scheuber/Bongarts/Getty Images 11/35 Jake Clarke-Salter Bristol Rovers Matthew Lewis/Getty Images 12/35 Charlie Colkett Bristol Rovers Getty 13/35 Cristian Cuevas Sint-Truidense OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images 14/35 Fankaty Dabo Swindon Getty Images 15/35 Jay Dasilva Charlton Athletic Getty Images 16/35 Matej Delac Royal Excel Mouscron Michael Steele/Getty Images 17/35 Islam Feruz Royal Mouscron PA 18/35 Michael Hector Eintracht Frankfurt Getty 19/35 Jordan Houghton Doncaster Rovers Dennis Grombkowski/Bongarts/Getty Images 20/35 Tomas Kalas Fulham Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 21/35 Alex Kiwomya Crewe Getty 22/35 Matt Miazga Vitesse Arnhem (OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) 23/35 Miro Muheim FC Zurich Getty Images 24/35 Nathan Vitesse Arnhem Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images 25/35 Kenneth Omeruo Alanyaspor Getty 26/35 Kasey Palmer Huddersfield Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images 27/35 Danilo Pantic Vitesse Arnhem 28/35 Mario Pasalic AC Milan @chelseafc 29/35 Lucas Piazon Fulham Getty 30/35 Loic Remy Crystal Palace (Matej Divizna/Getty Images) 31/35 Jhoao Rodriguez Independiente Sante Fe PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA/AFP/Getty Images 32/35 Fikayo Tomori Brighton 33/35 Bertrand Traore Ajax Hannah Foslien/Getty Images 34/35 Marco van Ginkel PSV Eindhoven Getty Images 35/35 Wallace Gremio Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images 1/35 Tammy Abraham Bristol City Chris Brunskill/Getty Images 2/35 Mukhtar Ali Vitesse Arnhem Getty Images 3/35 Victorien Angban Granada ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images 4/35 Abdul Baba Rahman Schalke Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images 5/35 Lewis Baker Vitesse Arnhem GETTY 6/35 Nathan Baxter Solihull Moors Chris Brunskill/Getty Images 7/35 Jamal Blackman Wycombe Wanderers SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images 8/35 Jeremie Boga Granada Getty 9/35 Izzy Brown Rotherham Ben Hoskins/Getty Images 10/35 Andreas Christensen Borussia Monchengladbach (second year of two year loan) Alexander Scheuber/Bongarts/Getty Images 11/35 Jake Clarke-Salter Bristol Rovers Matthew Lewis/Getty Images 12/35 Charlie Colkett Bristol Rovers Getty 13/35 Cristian Cuevas Sint-Truidense OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images 14/35 Fankaty Dabo Swindon Getty Images 15/35 Jay Dasilva Charlton Athletic Getty Images 16/35 Matej Delac Royal Excel Mouscron Michael Steele/Getty Images 17/35 Islam Feruz Royal Mouscron PA 18/35 Michael Hector Eintracht Frankfurt Getty 19/35 Jordan Houghton Doncaster Rovers Dennis Grombkowski/Bongarts/Getty Images 20/35 Tomas Kalas Fulham Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 21/35 Alex Kiwomya Crewe Getty 22/35 Matt Miazga Vitesse Arnhem (OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) 23/35 Miro Muheim FC Zurich Getty Images 24/35 Nathan Vitesse Arnhem Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images 25/35 Kenneth Omeruo Alanyaspor Getty 26/35 Kasey Palmer Huddersfield Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images 27/35 Danilo Pantic Vitesse Arnhem 28/35 Mario Pasalic AC Milan @chelseafc 29/35 Lucas Piazon Fulham Getty 30/35 Loic Remy Crystal Palace (Matej Divizna/Getty Images) 31/35 Jhoao Rodriguez Independiente Sante Fe PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA/AFP/Getty Images 32/35 Fikayo Tomori Brighton 33/35 Bertrand Traore Ajax Hannah Foslien/Getty Images 34/35 Marco van Ginkel PSV Eindhoven Getty Images 35/35 Wallace Gremio Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Back at Chelsea, Diego Costa has fired the Blues to the top of the Premier League. The Spain international is the Premier League’s leading scorer with 13 goals, and has condemned £33million striker Michy Batshuayi to a largely substitute role this season with his fine form.

Should Abraham secure a return to Stamford Bridge next summer, he will look to make the most of his opportunity of watching and learning from Costa close up.

“Wherever you go you have to learn off players who you play with and who you are up against,” he says. “Diego Costa is a good example. He’s doing very well and he’s arguably one of the best strikers in the world so I have to see what he does and add it to my game.”

First, Abraham will need to focus on helping Bristol City move up the Championship. After a promising start to the season, Lee Johnson’s side are 16th following three straight defeats.

Abraham admits the second tier is tougher than he imagined, but he believes the division has already helped him improve his skills.

“It’s very challenging. You just have to adapt and you have to get used to playing game after game,” he explains. “It’s about resting and what you do off the pitch that affects what you do on it. I just have to keep adapting. The experience has given me a new belief.”

Fifa 17: Top 25 wonderkids 25 show all Fifa 17: Top 25 wonderkids 1/25 Dele Alli (Spurs) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 80

Potential: 90 Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images 2/25 Ousmane Dembele (Dortmund) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 77

Potential: 90 AFP/Getty Images 3/25 Renato Sanches (Bayern) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 78

Potential: 90 Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images 4/25 Anthony Martial (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 82

Potential: 90 5/25 Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 81

Potential: 89 Rebecca Cook/Reuters 6/25 Alen Halilovic (Hamburg) Age: 20

Position: CAM

Overall: 79

Potential: 89 Bongarts/Getty Images 7/25 Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht, now Monaco) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 77

Potential: 89 Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images 8/25 Kurt Zouma (Chelsea) Age: 22

Position: CB

Overall: 80

Potential: 89 Getty Images 9/25 Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 10/25 Kingsley Coman (Bayern) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 81

Potential: 88 Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images 11/25 Mahmoud Dahoud (Gladbach) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 Bongarts/Getty Images 12/25 Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan) Age: 18

Position: GK

Overall: 76

Potential: 88 Marco Luzzani/Getty Images 13/25 Breel Embolo (Schalke) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 76

Potential: 88 Clive Mason/Getty Images 14/25 Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico) Age: 22

Position: CB

Overall: 83

Potential: 88 CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images 15/25 Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid) Age: 22

Position: ST

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 Getty Images 16/25 Kelechi Iheanacho (Man City) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 74

Potential: 88 Alex Livesey/Getty Images 17/25 Mauricio Lemos (UD Las Palmas) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 80

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 18/25 Charly Musonda (Chelsea) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 77

Potential: 88 Bryn Lennon/Getty Images 19/25 Saul Niguez (Atletico) Age: 22

Position: CM

Overall: 80

Potential: 88 20/25 Marcus Rashford (Man United) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 76

Potential: 88 Getty Images 21/25 Antonio Sanabria (Real Betis) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 22/25 Leroy Sane (Man City) Age: 21

Position: RM

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images 23/25 Luke Shaw (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LB

Overall: 80

Potential: 88 Man Utd via Getty Images 24/25 Raheem Sterling (Man City) Age: 22

Position: LM

Overall: 82

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 25/25 Jonathan Tah (Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 1/25 Dele Alli (Spurs) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 80

Potential: 90 Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images 2/25 Ousmane Dembele (Dortmund) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 77

Potential: 90 AFP/Getty Images 3/25 Renato Sanches (Bayern) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 78

Potential: 90 Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images 4/25 Anthony Martial (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 82

Potential: 90 5/25 Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 81

Potential: 89 Rebecca Cook/Reuters 6/25 Alen Halilovic (Hamburg) Age: 20

Position: CAM

Overall: 79

Potential: 89 Bongarts/Getty Images 7/25 Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht, now Monaco) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 77

Potential: 89 Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images 8/25 Kurt Zouma (Chelsea) Age: 22

Position: CB

Overall: 80

Potential: 89 Getty Images 9/25 Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 10/25 Kingsley Coman (Bayern) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 81

Potential: 88 Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images 11/25 Mahmoud Dahoud (Gladbach) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 Bongarts/Getty Images 12/25 Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan) Age: 18

Position: GK

Overall: 76

Potential: 88 Marco Luzzani/Getty Images 13/25 Breel Embolo (Schalke) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 76

Potential: 88 Clive Mason/Getty Images 14/25 Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico) Age: 22

Position: CB

Overall: 83

Potential: 88 CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images 15/25 Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid) Age: 22

Position: ST

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 Getty Images 16/25 Kelechi Iheanacho (Man City) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 74

Potential: 88 Alex Livesey/Getty Images 17/25 Mauricio Lemos (UD Las Palmas) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 80

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 18/25 Charly Musonda (Chelsea) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 77

Potential: 88 Bryn Lennon/Getty Images 19/25 Saul Niguez (Atletico) Age: 22

Position: CM

Overall: 80

Potential: 88 20/25 Marcus Rashford (Man United) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 76

Potential: 88 Getty Images 21/25 Antonio Sanabria (Real Betis) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 22/25 Leroy Sane (Man City) Age: 21

Position: RM

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images 23/25 Luke Shaw (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LB

Overall: 80

Potential: 88 Man Utd via Getty Images 24/25 Raheem Sterling (Man City) Age: 22

Position: LM

Overall: 82

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images 25/25 Jonathan Tah (Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 79

Potential: 88 AFP/Getty Images

The striker is aiming to score 20 goals this season, which in his words would be a “massive achievement” in his “first year playing professionally in a tough league.”

Abraham’s thoughts are rightly looking towards the future but he knows the importance of taking each game as it comes for Bristol City. He wants to be a Premier League regular within the next few years and he is aiming to break into the England senior team after scoring twice on his full Under-21 debut in the 5-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in October.

“Playing at the top level in the Premier League — that’s where I strive to be,” he says. “England Under-21s is just one step below the first team so I’m going to keep striving to be the best and hopefully I’ll get a call-up.”

To find out more about EA SPORTS FIFA 17 The Journey and to live your Alex Hunter story, head to easports.com/uk/fifa/the-journey