Armando Broja has spoken out on his future after the Chelsea manager shift following West Ham and Newcastle bids.
One of the longest running sagas of the summer transfer window involved West Ham and Newcastle and their pursuit of Chelsea striker Broja.
The Hammers were first linked with a move for the Slough-born Albania striker last season after he seriously caught the eye on loan at Southampton (Football Insider).
And as seemed to be the case with most West Ham transfer targets in the summer, Newcastle United were also in the mix.
Sky Sports actually reported that Broja was top of David Moyes’s list of striker targets for the summer window. And Eddie Howe was reportedly willing to take the Chelsea academy graduate on loan to get him to Newcastle – something West Ham were not willing to do (Sky Sports).
In the end Thomas Tuchel and new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly handed £50m-Broja a new long-term deal.
And West Ham spent £35m on Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca while Newcastle completed a club record £63m deal to sign Swedish sensation Alexander Isak.
Since then Tuchel has been sacked and replaced in the Chelsea hotseat by Graham Potter.
And Broja has barely played, starting only one game and playing just 191 minutes in the Premier League so far this season (WhoScored).
Chelsea have also agreed a deal to sign striker Christopher Nkunku at the end of the season too, casting further doubt over Broja’s first team opportunities.
That may have given West Ham and Newcastle fans renewed hope that a deal for Broja might yet be possible in the winter or next summer.
Now Broja has spoken out on his future after the Chelsea manager shift following the West Ham and Newcastle bids.
“The new long term deal at Chelsea is massive opportunity for me and my family,” Broja said, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.
“This is my boyhood club.
“I want to keep trying to improve as a person and player. There is not many better clubs to learn than Chelsea.”
That paints a pretty bleak picture for the likes of West Ham and Newcastle if they do harbour any hopes of signing Broja anytime soon.
Having said that football moves fast and if Broja is pushed even further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, Potter may well be willing to sanction a loan move and the player would surely welcome any chance to play regularly having tasted it at Saints last term.
Time will tell but one thing is certain, with Michail Antonio now 32 and West Ham struggling to score goals this season – Broja would be welcomed at the London Stadium with open arms even if it was just to be a loan.