Transfer News: West Ham United are said to be closing in on a loan deal for Chelsea striker Armando Broja
According to Daily Mail (h/t football.london), West Ham United are closing in on a loan deal for Chelsea striker Armando Broja. They are ready to proceed with a loan deal after Chelsea were reluctant to sell the Albanian.
The Hammers were said to be ready to negotiate a fee for the 20-year-old, but will now accept Chelsea’s proposal to take the player for an initial 12 months loan and then try to make a permanent deal after that.
Chelsea’s reluctance to sell the player indicates that he may have a future at Stamford Bridge. Broja spent the last season on loan at Southampton and exploded onto the scene.
The Albanian striker scored nine goals in all competitions for the Saints and helped them reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. He emerged as one of the best young strikers in the Premier League last season.
West Ham were said to be pursuing a permanent transfer for the 20-year-old, while Chelsea were only interested in loaning him out again. Tall and technical on the ball, the Chelsea youth graduate spent time on loan at Vitesse before going out again to Southampton.
Many of the club’s fans would argue that a number nine is required despite Timo Werner being in the team. An out-and-out striker, the German has struggled to replicate his Bundesliga form at Stamford Bridge.
Sending Broja on loan and having Werner on the bench would give fans hope that Tuchel could get in a new number nine for next season. Having already signed Raheem Sterling, it won’t be surprising if the Englishman is deployed in the number nine position, having played in that at times during his tenure at Manchester City.
Tuchel likes to rotate his attackers in various positions and we could potentially see Werner, Sterling and Kai Havertz being rotated in the middle of the front three- if Chelsea don’t bring in another striker.
Broja is young and has huge potential in him. A loan could be good for his development because Tuchel would be under pressure to win some silverware in the upcoming season. For that, he would want to play his best XI as much as he thinks is feasible
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The deal is yet to be confirmed. If Broja stays back, then he would surely want to fight for his place in the team. If he goes out on loan, it wouldn’t be a blow for us since the club will have the time to assess his long-term future. But any permanent deal for him may end up hurting Chelsea in the long run.