Chelsea gets good news as West Ham signs a budding star

Cobham has long been one of the planet’s premier producers of promising prospects. Chelsea, being the team it was under Roman Abramovich, didn’t have much time to sit around and wait for players to grow and develop. The one exception being the transfer ban year under Frank Lampard. The Blues developed a system dubbed the loan army where they could send these youngsters out to get experience and ultimately keep them within their ranks. Now though, that’s not the case as the loan army starts to shrink into a minuscule militia.

FIFA has put heavy restrictions on the number of loans each club can make, which severely limits how Chelsea can do business in regard to its budding stars. English clubs have figured this out over the last few seasons and cracked the code. Marc Guehi and Tino Livramento are just two of the latest academy graduates to jump ship and join other Premier League sides. Fast forward to the present day, and Armando Broja and Levi Colwill are looking to potentially follow in their footsteps before the upcoming campaign gets underway in early August. However, West Ham United’s latest signing has cast serious doubt over the former’s ability to move.

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West Ham’s newest signing heavily benefits Chelsea’s striker situation

David Moyes’ side added one of Europe’s most sought after young forwards on Monday afternoon when the Irons signed Sassuolo’s Gianluca Scamacca. West Ham’s top priority this summer was to add a versatile and threatening forward capable of playing off Michail Antonio or as a lone striker. As the months dragged on, it seemingly came down to Scamacca or Chelsea’s Broja. Scamacca was being courted by Paris Saint-Germain, so the latter always seemed more likely. One thing that became clear early on was that the club could not practically sign both.

For one reason or another, Sassuolo’s discussions with the Parisian giant fell through, opening a door for the east Londoners to swoop in. The Blues were always unwilling to play ball when it came to Broja—despite a £30 million offer from the Irons a number of weeks ago—which led to the signing of Scamacca. Now, as Moyes begins his preparations for the upcoming campaign, he’s got his shiny new toy up top in attack, and Chelsea is left with Broja.

The Albanian National Team star has been weighing his options during preseason with many suitors calling. Everton, Newcastle, Southampton and a handful of other English clubs have inquired about the Cobham graduate this summer. He did not feature in the Blues’ preseason tour of the United States due to an injury. Regardless, Thomas Tuchel insists that after the season he had with Saints last year, he needs to be evaluated further within the first team.

Broja seems to be unhappy with his current situation, but as the summer continues to drag on, his importance in SW6 continues to grow. Kai Havertz is the only recognized “striker” who has a shot at making Chelsea’s first team roster for 2022/23. The Blues’ focus has been elsewhere in the transfer market thus far, which means that keeping either Michy Batshuayi or Broja seem to be the most realistic options at this point in time.

Broja didn’t exactly set the world ablaze during his time at Southampton, but this doesn’t come as a surprise. His nine goals and one assist in 38 games is not exactly an eye-popping return. Nevertheless, he can still do a job for the Blues next season. After all, Tammy Abraham was the team’s top scorer during his time under Frank Lampard, and he had a horrible spell with Swansea years prior. This just goes to show that it’s not always about numbers. Strikers cannot score goals if the chance creators around them aren’t good enough, this is a concept Chelsea fans know all too well. They can do a job with better overall players around them though, which is what Tuchel is banking on happening for the 20-year-old if he sticks around.

If given the choice between Batshuayi and Broja, it’s safe to assume which option many supporters would favor. Broja is still very young and extremely talented. He’s been subject to transfer rumors from some of Europe’s largest clubs in the past 12 months, which should serve as a reminder to the Blues as to the talent they have on their hands. Now that West Ham is out of the picture, Chelsea has a greater chance of retaining Broja due to the fact that none of the other interested parties have submitted a concrete bid.

Would you like to see Broja remain with the Blues this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!