West Ham are closing on a potential deal for Albanian Armando Broja on loan for this season.
The Albanian striker is a top target for West Ham and David Moyes this summer. Moyes is desperate to add another striker to their ranks to provide competition to Michail Antonio.
The Hammers had placed a £ 30 million offer for Broja to Chelsea. The deal was attractive as it included an immediate payment of £25m plus £5m as a bonus.
Unfortunately for West Ham, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had publicly claimed that Broja is not up for sale. Moreover, he is eager to see how he plays in the pre-season tour after which he would make a decision on his future.
The Daily Mail reports that the Hammers accepted Chelsea’s ‘no sell’ criterion for Broja. Therefore, they now have shifted to take Broja on for a season-long loan.
This loan option would come with the option of signing him next season. Broja had an impressive outing with Southampton on loan the previous season. He scored nine goals from the 38 appearances that he made for the club across all competitions.
Moreover, he was previously also successful on loan with Vitesse. The 20-year-old, however, has been successful only in getting one senior appearance in a Chelsea shirt. He came on as a substitute player for exactly four minutes against Everton back in 2020.
Though, Broja signed a long-term contract up to 2026 at Stamford Bridge, his future at the Blues looks uncertain now.
Broja’s mother had also commented earlier that the priority of his son is to regularly play first-team football. Therefore, this could only be provided by West Ham at this moment.
West Ham’s other transfer interests for the season
The Hammers have set their eyes on Sassuolo ace Gianluca Scamacca. Moreover, they have also placed a bid of £32.3m for Lille midfielder Amadou Onana. The deal now looks to go through as they have previously put down two bids from the Premier League outfit.
West Ham have already made three signings this summer.
The three signings include center-back Nayef Aguerd, goalkeeper Alphonso Areola and midfielder Flynn Downes.
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