West Ham United target Armando Broja wanted by Napoli in case of £86million Victor Osimhen move
The competition for David Moyes’ top target for striker help at West Ham keeps growing as Napoli join amid movement in Europe.
The Albanian was expected to be subject of a £30million bid from the Hammers back on 21 June [Sky Sports] with the youngster at the top of the manager’s list.
Over a week later on 30 June they had still not bid according to Jacob Steinberg in The Guardian and Newcastle have since become a real concern in the race.
Now the stakes have increased even further with the news that the Serie A side view the 20-year-old as the main prospect to replace Victor Osimhen.
According to Calcio Mercato he is “a reality” because German giants Bayern Munich are after their Nigerian star and Corriere dello Sport say they are not afraid of the €100million [£86million] price that Aurelio De Laurenitiis will demand.
The Bavarians could be looking to replace Robert Lewandowski this summer if his mooted move to Barcelona comes off.
With massive money flying around between European heavyweights it is imperative for the Irons to press ahead with a move for Broja if he is the man that has been identified as the answer at the London Stadium, or else line up an alternative.
The developments around the former Southampton loanee are beginning to take on the feel of the doomed Darwin Nunez pursuit where West Ham were once the leading contenders before being boxed out by others ahead of his move to Liverpool.
It was suggested by Alex Crook at talkSPORT that communication issues at Stamford Bridge are hampering the ability of clubs to register bids with new chief Todd Boehly.
But the Daily Mail reported earlier on Monday (4 July) that official contact has been registered, along with further Premier League competition in Everton.
It’s clearly not a straight-forward one, although nothing has been so far this summer, and the fact that Thomas Tuchel wants to put him through his paces in pre-season isn’t conducive to a quick agreement.
At this stage it would appear that the Irons either need to send a sizeable offer to Chelsea now, which is a risk considering he is only semi-proven, or make concrete plans to pick up an alternative if they want to hit the ground running for the start of the season.