Chelsea willing to sell striker Armando Broja this month; the Blues are understood to want £50m for the 22-year-old; Fulham and Wolves are understood to be exploring conditions of deal for Albania international; Chelsea need to be conscious of Profitability & Sustainability Rules
Thursday 18 January 2024 21:23, UK
Chelsea are willing to sell striker Armando Broja before the January transfer window closes.
Fulham and Wolves are understood to be exploring conditions of a deal, with the 22-year-old one of a number of forwards both clubs are looking at.
Ideally Fulham would want to generate funds and create squad space before bringing anyone in.
Sky Sports News reported earlier this month there is interest from Mexico and Spain in Fulham's Carlos Vinicius, while Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro remain interested in Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz.
Meanwhile, Wolves sent striker Sasa Kalajdzic on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this month and are in the market for a replacement.
Sky Sports News has already reported Gary O'Neil's side's interest in Danny Ings, Hugo Ekitike and Che Adams - and Broja is also on their list.
Sources have cast doubt, however, over whether interested clubs can raise an acceptable offer to Chelsea in this window. The west London club are understood to want £50m.
The Albania international, who returned from a cruciate ligament injury in September, has made 17 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions this season, scoring twice.
Prior to his knee injury, Broja impressed on loan at Southampton in the 2021/22 season, hitting nine goals in 38 matches in all competitions.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has said the club do not need to sell to be able to buy players this month - but they are yet to sign anyone after 18 days of the window and they want to sign a new striker themselves.
Sources have also told Sky Sports News the Blues need to be conscious of Profitability & Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Selling academy graduates would present pure profit on the balance sheet, which has heightened the prospect of selling Broja, Conor Gallagher, and-or Trevoh Chalobah this month.
Sky Sports News reported in December they are willing to listen to offers for Gallagher, with Tottenham interested, although Pochettino has been vocal about how happy he is with the player, having made him captain.
Chalobah has just returned to training from a long-term injury, so other clubs are unlikely to want to buy the centre-back until he has properly returned to fitness and played games, making a loan more likely if he goes.
Chelsea have already let Ian Maatsen and David Datro Fofana go on loan to Borussia Dortmund and Burnley respectively this month.
A significant few weeks lie ahead in the future of Conor Gallagher.
Mauricio Pochettino said in early January he had received assurances from the Chelsea hierarchy that selling players would not be a prerequisite to new signings in the January market. All very nuanced.
And yet, as the transfer window rumbles on, Gallagher's position feels precariously unstable - mooted as a player capable of attracting big money to balance the books.
Here, Sky Sports analyses Gallagher's merits and why Chelsea may be foolish to let a homegrown talent leave the club at such a crucial juncture in Pochettino's early rule.
The winter transfer window is now open and will close at 11pm in England and midnight in Scotland on Thursday 1 February, 2024.
To ensure harmonisation with the major leagues in Europe, the closing dates were set following discussions with the EFL, DFL, Serie A, LaLiga, and LFP, who will all close their summer and winter windows on 1 September and 1 February respectively
Keep up to date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms, while you can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News, including daily transfer shows, and listen to our Transfer Talk podcast.
