Chelsea could sanction West Ham transfer after Victor Osimhen hint dropped

Victor Osimhen is in the Blues' sights with Mauricio Pochettino's men set to consider a swoop for the Nigerian and they could have to sell to buy.

Armando Broja

Chelsea could sanction a departure for Armando Broja in their bid to buy Victor Osimhen from Napoli.

Despite the Blues' striker woes in the opening months of the campaign, Albanian international Broja has struggled for first-team action. Broja missed the bulk of 2023 with an ACL injury and only returned in September's 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

He returned to the line-up against Fulham the following week and marked the occasion with a goal but has started just once since. The striker withdrew from international duty last month with another knee injury, although not the same one which ruled him out for most of the year.

Mauricio Pochettino turned to Broja late on as a final roll of the dice at the weekend - and the move paid dividends. In the 93rd minute, the 22-year-old was wiped out by Ruben Dias in the penalty area and Cole Palmer buried the resulting spot-kick to earn a point against Manchester City.

West Ham could renew their interest in the Chelsea man in January with their interest well known. The Hammers were one of several Premier League clubs monitoring Broja's situation 18 months ago before Thomas Tuchel revealed he was going nowhere, even tabling a bid worth in excess of £30m in a bid to land their man.

The Blues are likely to be pursuing a goalscorer of their own, which would plummet Broja further down the pecking order. Michail Antonio, Danny Ings and youngster Davin Mubama are David Moyes' only striker options and Broja, given his physical attributes, would provide an alternative for the Hammers.

The Guardian claimed last year that West Ham tabled a £30million bid and were close to reaching personal terms with the player. Should Chelsea be more inclined to sell this time, they will demand a similar fee given the four-and-a-half years left on his contract.

That will free-up funds for a move for Osimhen, who dropped a big hint that he could be open to departing current club Napoli for the Blues.

"I don't have a favourite Premier League club, but I have two shirts: Chelsea and Manchester United," Osimhen said. "Many of my friends are Chelsea fans, a few Manchester United.

"The Premier League is the most popular league for any African player, it's a great league."

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