West Ham United drop interest in Armando Broja after agreeing Gianluca Scamacca deal
West Ham have dropped their interest in Chelsea striker Armando Broja as they edge closer to completing a £35m move for Gianluca Scamacca.
That’s according to a report by Mark Douglas for iNews, who says their offer of £30.5m was taken off the table after they agreed a deal for Italy international Scamacca with Sassuolo.
West Ham had made Broja their number one target this summer, but Chelsea’s reluctance to agree a permanent deal quickly has forced the Hammers to move on to other targets.
Broja was open to a move to the London Stadium as he wants regular first-team football, but does have other interest from Everton and Newcastle.
Both clubs are now expected to step up their efforts to sign the Albanian international, while West Ham prepare for Scamacca to undergo a medical this week after jetting into London on Monday.
Shame
Broja was seen by many in the club and the fans as the ideal answer to the striker problem that has plagued the club in recent years.
He’s young, strong, fast, great on the ball and a good finisher too, but that’s exactly why Chelsea want to keep him and they’re the ones in a position of power with this deal.
The 20-year-old has still got plenty of time on his contract at Stamford Bridge and rather than developing their player for them for a year and then being back at square one, the club have rightly decided to move on.
Now they’re likely to be bringing in a 23-year-old international striker who has more first-team level experience and just scored 16 league goals in Serie A, that they’re able to develop and reap the benefits from for years to come.
It’s not ideal and it’s certainly a shame, but ultimately this seems to be the best possible outcome for West Ham.