Wolves Reportedly Interested in Young Chelsea Striker

Wolves have a new transfer target, and have set their sights on young Chelsea striker, Armando Broja, to fill the void left by Fabio Silva and Sasa Kaladjzic, according to Jacob Steinburg in The Guardian. The 22-year-old Albanian, who scored his first Blues goal against the Midlands side, is being explored as a loan transfer, with an option to sign permanently in the summer window.

Wolves Striker Search Could Lead Them to Young Chelsea Man

The Search for a Striker

Gary O’Neil’s team have been linked with a number of centre-forwards, having never truly replaced Raul Jimenez in the traditional number nine role.

John Percy at The Telegraph identified back in October that the Midlands club were keen to bolster striking options back in the summer, but having failed to secure any of their targets, they would look to January.

The Black Country side’s only central forward options are Hee-chan Hwang and Matheus Cunha, but neither of them are suited to the the number nine role, with Cunha preferring a free-floating role across the front three, and Hwang suiting the ten position.

Wolves sit in 11th place in the table with 30 goals scored, fewer than every club above them at the moment. Although Hwang has notched 11 goals this season, he is away at the Asian Cup with South Korea for up to a month, so O’Neil will look for reinforcements.

Who is Broja?

The Chelsea academy starlet has been on their books since 2020, but has only earned 26 appearances, scoring twice. A versatile forward, used to being shunted to the wing and dropped into attacking midfield, Broja has enjoyed most of his minutes on loan.

Spells at Vitesse Arnheim in the Dutch Eredivisie and Southampton in the Premier League saw him net 16 times over 62 appearances, and although he led the line against Fulham on January 13, the youngster seems surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

He was reportedly very close to a move to West Ham in the 2022 summer window, and has not picked up many more starts since then. He did miss a long stretch of time due to injury but currently finds himself behind Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order.

Transfermarkt values the Albanian at £28 million, and having signed a new six-year contract in 2022, the West London club’s asking price may be too much for the lower-half side in this window.

However, Steinburg reports that a loan deal is being explored, with the possibility of a permanent transfer in the summer when Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations are less pressing. He adds that as Broja is an academy product, his sale would represent pure profit in terms of FFP for Chelsea.