West Ham target Armando Broja not on Chelsea pre-season flight
Chelsea striker and reported West Ham target Armando Broja has not travelled with his team for their pre-season tour.
According to Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg, the 20-year-old is wanted by the Hammers as well as fellow Premier League side Everton this summer.
He could join up with his teammates later but there seems to be no decision made yet over his future.
Via Twitter, Steinberg wrote, “Armando Broja not part of the Chelsea squad flying out to America today. Striker, who’s wanted by Everton and West Ham, could join up with the squad next week.”
Act quickly
We reportedly exclusively that the Hammers had tabled bids to sign two separate midfielders but they now need to go all out for striker.
These seven to ten days are West Ham’s window to go out and agree personal terms with the Albanian before negotiating a fee with Chelsea.
There’s no chance that Thomas Tuchel sees him as his first-choice replacement for Romelu Lukaku.
He might want him to add to the strength in depth, but if Broja is getting regular game time at West Ham, the decision seems to be quite straightforward.
The fee may be the stumbling block, but that can be negotiated at a later date and what’s important is to get the player completely on board.
Everton are also keen, so West Ham need to tempt him either with higher wages or David Moyes needs to explain how Broja would thrive in his system.
London Stadium is clearly the place to go this summer and not Goodison Park unless players want to fight relegation battles on Merseyside and not play European football.