Fulham wins race to sign Broja on loan from Chelsea

Chelsea looks set to send Armando Broja to Fulham for the remainder of the 2023/24 season. The Blues were previously shopping the striker in hopes of selling him for around $63 million. Nevertheless, teams interested in the forward balked at the price tag. Instead, Fulham has agreed to temporarily sign Broja for around $5 million.

The Cottagers, however, were not the only club to be interested in the striker. Fellow Premier League side Wolves also wanted to add Broja to their squad. David Ornstein of The Athletic reported that the West Midlands team agreed a fee with Chelsea as well. With both clubs interested in him, Broja was able to choose his next club.

The 22-year-old striker picked Fulham over Wolves due to proximity. After all, Wolves are currently higher in the table than Fulham at the moment (although they are separated by just four points). However, Fulham’s home stadium is less than two miles away from Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. The move allows Broja to remain in west London.

Striker has yet to live up to full potential at Chelsea

Broja, despite being a highly rated striker, has only managed to score two goals in 19 total appearances so far this season. Oddly enough, his lone goal in the Premier League came at Craven Cottage when Chelsea faced Fulham in October. The only other score Broja has during the current campaign was against Preston in the FA Cup third round.

Nevertheless, Fulham will be looking for the Albanian to reach his full potential in the coming months. Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino recently compared Broja’s development to superstar striker Harry Kane. The manager previously worked with Kane during their spells with Tottenham Hotspur.

“[Broja’s] potential is massive,” stated Pochettino. “All the biggest strikers need time. When they are young, they need to find their own balance. But I believe that he has the potential to be an amazing striker.”

“I always compare him to Harry Kane. He went on loan to Leyton Orient, Norwich and spent time finding his real balance. In our first six months, he started to perform only in December and January and that’s when we started to see his real potential.”

The move will give Fulham manager extra option up front

Fulham is certainly in need of a boost up front. The Cottagers have managed to score just 28 goals in 22 English top-flight matches this season. They are currently being led by former Wolves center forward Raul Jimenez. However, the Mexican has netted just five goals in league play during the current campaign.

Broja will now give manager Marco Silva another option up top. Silva also has Carlos Vinicius as well, but the Brazilian has scored just two goals in limited opportunities. As a result, Augsburg and Real Betis have reportedly inquired to Fulham about his availability in the final moments of the transfer window.

Assuming Fulham can get Broja signed and registered in time, he could be set to face Burnley at the weekend. The Cottagers travel to face the Clarets on Saturday, February 3rd.

AC Milan was also interested in Broja as well but could not pull the trigger in time. The Italian giants are, however, expected to return with a potential permanent offer in the summer.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.