West Ham are closing in on the signing of Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo and as a result, have cooled their interest in Chelsea ace Armando Broja.
Hammers boss David Moyes was very keen to prise Chelsea striker Broja away from Stamford Bridge this summer according to a report from The Express.
READ…Report: £43 million Spain international has just rejected West Ham move
This has happened to us before. It was only last summer when the Blues proved incredibly difficult to deal with during negations for the transfer of Kurt Zouma to the London Stadium.
And it felt like history was repeating itself with Broja.
In the past, David Moyes has become fixated on transfer targets. You need look no further than the Jesse Lingard transfer saga for evidence of this.
The Scot chased and chased Jesse but eventually lost out on him to Nottingham Forest. During the time that Moyes chased Lingard, West Ham missed out on alternative, and arguably better, options.
As talks for Broja went on and on with Chelsea, many Hammers fans thought that we could be in a similar situation with the Albanian to what we were in with Lingard. That hasn’t proved to be the case though.
West Ham moved on quickly for Gianluca Scamacca
As soon as things started to look tricky regarding a move to sign Broja, the Hammers instantly moved on to Sassuolo ace Scamacca.
West Ham are expected to sign the Italian hitman on a five-year deal for a fee believed to be worth around £35 million today (Sky Sports).
The Hammers have played Chelsea like a violin here. The Hammers have straight up called the Blues’ bluff.
Sure, Chelsea may well end up selling Broja elsewhere, but they will surely not get as much money for him from other clubs.
One of the key factors in the negotiations for the 20-year-old was undoubtedly Chelsea asking for a first option on Declan Rice next year.
It is fair to assume that the Chelsea hierarchy were demanding an option on Dec before allowing Broja to move to the London Stadium.
If West Ham don’t sign Broja now, the Blues will not have that clause at their disposal next summer.
Chelsea have missed the boat. Huge credit must go to David Moyes for learning lessons from the past and moving on quickly and efficiently in the transfer market, rather than allowing the saga to drag on and on until the end of the summer.
And West Ham signing Gianluca Scamacca will be a massive statement in more ways than one.
Read other West Ham news:
Report claims £17 million West Ham ace wants to leave, agreement for sale in place
29-year-old striker says West Ham have just submitted a bid for him