Fabrizio Romano: Chelsea "working" to sign striker who could replace Broja

Fabrizio Romano: Chelsea “working” to sign striker who could replace Broja

Chelsea appear to be working behind the scenes to land a new forward who could end up replacing Armando Broja, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Armando Broja transfer update

So far this season, the 22-year-old hasn’t exactly nailed down a regular role under Mauricio Pochettino, missing parts of the campaign with two separate injuries. Broja has been limited to just seven starts in all competitions, with Nicolas Jackson the first-choice striker at Stamford Bridge. However, despite Jackson being currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, Chelsea could still sell Broja before the end of the month.

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Reports have claimed that Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves have all expressed their interest in the “powerful” Albanian, with Chelsea open to a deal for no less than £35m or on a loan with an obligation to buy.

Talking to GiveMeSport, Romano has now said that Chelsea would indeed be open to selling Broja on a permanent basis, with the Blues “actively working” on signing a potential replacement who could rival Jackson.

“There’s plenty of interest and that may raise the price. But there is a point of difference between what the clubs predominantly want, which is a loan with an option or potentially an obligation, and Chelsea who would consider a permanent sale and ideally would like money that they can spend sooner rather than later. We’ve also heard reports that Chelsea could sell Broja regardless of whether they find a striker.

“I still think even if that is accurate, Chelsea are actively working on options because even if financially speaking it was right to let Broja go with no replacement this window, Pochettino may have other input. It would leave him with Nkunku, who can play further forward but is coming back from injury. It would leave him with Jackson who’s at the African Cup of Nations and may need some rest when he returns in early February, and no other established striker should Broja go and not be replaced.”

Chelsea striker rumours

The Blues have been linked with a number of attackers in recent weeks and may need to land one of these should Broja leave. One of the biggest names who could move to Stamford Bridge in 2024 is Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, however, a deal may not materialise until the summer despite the Nigerian being open to a move.

Another high-profile name is Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres, with rumours last week suggesting that the Blues had failed with an offer of around £73m.

Short-term solutions could therefore be looked at with the deadline fast approaching, and there were reports earlier in the window that four forwards offered to Chelsea were AZ Alkmaar’s Vangelis Pavlidis, Zenit St Petersburg’s Mateo Cassierra, Cercle Brugge’s Kevin Denkey and Atletico Mineiro’s Paulinho.

Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, now at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad is another who has been linked with a move to Chelsea for the second half of the season, and following Romano’s claim, it wouldn’t be a shock if one of the attackers mentioned ends up in London before February 1.