Barcelona have given West Ham boss David Moyes a serious Armando Broja headache with a late Chelsea counter move.
West Ham have been intensely linked with a move for Chelsea academy graduate Broja.
The Hammers were first linked with a move for the striker earlier this season after he seriously caught the eye on loan at Southampton (Football Insider).
Sky Sports has reported that Broja is on Moyes’s list of striker targets for the summer window with a forward being a top priority for West Ham.
West Ham are facing an anxious wait to see if Chelsea will do business with them over Broja.
Telegraph journalist Jason Burt said Chelsea are currently rejecting any approaches for the Albanian striker and are in no rush to sell him.
So after Romelu Lukaku’s Chelsea departure to return to Inter Milan, West Ham will likely have to wait and hope the Blues get a new forward or two signed before they consider letting Broja leave.
There was a big boost for West Ham this week when Chelsea appeared on the verge of signing former Moyes target Raphinha from Leeds.
Thomas Tuchel has also been linked with Raheem Sterling and Ousmane Dembele too (Sky Sports).
Raphinha’s move to Stamford Bridge had looked a mere formality.
But Barcelona have given West Ham boss Moyes a serious Broja headache with a late Chelsea counter move last night.
Barca have – like West Ham – been linked with Raphinha since making their interest known in the Brazilian back in January.
However the Camp Nou club are working under restricted finances and cannot afford to meet the Leeds asking price.
That was good news for West Ham as it effectively paved the way for Chelsea to sign Raphinha, making it more likely Broja might be allowed to leave for the Hammers this summer.
But the likes of Football Italia are reporting that Barcelona have been successful in persuading Raphinha to wait while they try to come to an agreement with Leeds.
“Barcelona have succeeded in persuading Raphinha to wait longer for them to agree a deal with Leeds,” Football Espana reports.
The Times are also reporting that Barcelona are now ready to launch an offer worth £51m up front with a further £9m to follow in add-ons.
Raphinha’s agent, former Chelsea and Barca midfielder Deco, met with the latter’s president Joan Laporta on Wednesday where the deal was discussed.
Barcelona are now said to be ‘hopeful of getting the deal done’ with Raphinha’s desire to move to the Camp Nou a key factor.
Of course if Raphinha does go to Barca over Chelsea it may not be fatal for West Ham’s hopes of signing Broja.
Chelsea will undoubtedly still go out and get at least one, if not two, new strikers.
But it certainly does not help Moyes’ cause in the pursuit of his alleged prime target.
Unfortunately any Broja transfer looks like turning into something of a saga for the Hammers.
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