Chelsea striker to stay and fight amid West Ham interest, despite Folarin Balogun reports
Chelsea striker Armando Broja is keen to stay at Stamford Bridge even if the Blues bring in Folarin Balogun from Arsenal, despite interest from West Ham, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper reported on 22 August that Chelsea’s interest in Balogun has emerged as a result of their lack of fit strikers with both Broja and Cristopher Nkunku injured for significant periods of time.
Broja is set to return from a knee injury in December, and West Ham have been looking to bring him to the London Stadium to fix their own striker woes.
West Ham assessing their options
Despite the news coming out now that Broja would turn down a move to the London Stadium, it is very likely the club were already aware of his stance, and have begun assessing other options to fill the void left by Gianluca Scamacca.
Broja was one of a number of options being looked at by the Hammers, as David Moyes looks to bring further attacking threat to his side with the current crop struggling to score goals regularly last season.
The current duo of Michail Antonio and Danny Ings pose their own problems to Moyes. Antonio scored against Chelsea but has been heavily linked with a move away from the club, while Ings has never nailed down a starting spot in East London and is prone to injuries.
The Hammers had hoped a promise of game time could be enough to lure Broja to East London, but the Albanian international prefers to remain at Stamford Bridge in a bid to fight for a regular starting place despite increased competition.
In other West Ham news, a new signing is expected to be announced soon.