Chelsea could lose leverage in the race to sign Declan Rice with West Ham up against growing competition for the signing of Armando Broja. The 20-year-old striker has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge this summer following an impressive loan spell at Southampton last season.
Broja, who sees his contract in west London expire in 2026, featured 38 times for the Saints, directly contributing towards ten goals. The Albania international played a central role in steering Ralph Hasenhuttl's side to safety from relegation and looked poised to be integrated into Thomas Tuchel's plans upon his return.
football.london understand that the striker will be looked at by the Blues boss in pre-season amid strong interest from David Moyes. It's also understood that Everton are eager to sign Broja, among several top-flight European clubs too.
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One of whom, according to La Gazzetta Dello Sport, is Lazio. It's believed that Maurizio Sarri's side are in talks with Chelsea regarding Broja, who has been valued at £57.8million.
And, while it'd mean that the west Londoners can cash-in on the greatly coveted striker without directly bolstering a rival side, Todd Boehly would be losing leverage in any potential deal for Declan Rice in the future.
The Hammers midfielder topped Chelsea's shortlist last summer but a move was delayed after a £100million evaluation was tipped 'steep', according to The Athletic. Despite the growing intrigue in Rice since, Moyes has dismissed the prospect of his star asset leaving east London.
"The first thing to say is that he is not for sale," said Moyes in April, when asked whether the aforementioned sum is feasible. "If you are interested, well, it will be north of that. One hundred was cheap last summer. One hundred and fifty just now would be the minimum, but he is not for sale. What I do know is that it means there are only certain clubs that could even consider it."
Nonetheless, Tuchel has made assurances that Broja will be in the mix this season after impressing so far. Speaking ahead of Chelsea's pre-season clash against Club America, the Blues boss told reporters: "Armando is our player first of all and we have, at the moment, no interest in selling him. He is here to make an impression after he was on loan in Southampton.
"That’s his situation from where we look up front. It’s good if there’s interest as it shows us there’s talent and potential. It shows us that he is in the position to impress and become a Chelsea player."
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