West Ham believe they are close to signing Armando Broja from Chelsea this summer, according to reports.
The 20-year-old has been the subject of heavy transfer interest from several Premier League clubs following his loan spell at Southampton last season.
West Ham, Everton and Newcastle United have all shown their interest, but Broja’s preference, if he were to leave, would be to make the switch across the capital to the London Stadium.
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Chelsea’s position over his future at Stamford Bridge has been clear. They wanted to assess him during pre-season, which saw him fly out to the United States to join up with Thomas Tuchel’s squad for their tour last week.
But now his future looks close to being resolved. As reported by Fabrizio Romano, West Ham are 'close to signing' Broja, with talks between the clubs progressing.
Personal terms have been agreed with the Albania international. Chelsea would prefer a loan deal, which West Ham would be open to, however David Moyes’ side are hoping to bring him to the club on a permanent deal.
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West Ham lodged a £30 million bid last week and now it’s down to Chelsea to make a decision.
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It has also been claimed by Alex Crook of talkSPORT that the Blues would prefer a loan deal due to co-owner Todd Boehly believing £20 million can be added to the forward’s value if he has a successful 2022/23 campaign.
Chelsea flew to Orlando for their final two games of pre-season in America on Sunday, and Adam Newson reported that Broja has flown back to England.
The reason remains unknown amid speculation over his future and after he picked up an injury during training in Los Angeles, which saw him miss the 2-1 win over Club America. Tuchel also insisted Chelsea currently had ‘no intention’ of selling Broja.
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The head coach said: "Armando is our player first of all and we have, at the moment, no interest in selling him.
"He is here to make an impression after he was on loan in Southampton.
“That's his situation from where we look up front. It's good if there's interest as it shows us there's talent and potential.
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"It shows us that Armando is in the position to impress and become a Chelsea player. When will he become a Chelsea player? Nobody knows but hopefully as soon as possible.
“He got injured and there's a delay for him, which is never nice because a young player should normally make an impression from the first minute in pre-season.
"Now we have a bit of a delay in that but that's the situation.”
Topics: Armando Broja, Chelsea, West Ham United
Matthew Debono