Scouting expert: Armando Broja must leave Chelsea amid West Ham United interest
We’re delighted to welcome Football Manager’s Wolves researcher Dave Azzopardi as our exclusive columnist. Each week the scouting expert will be giving his views on the biggest talking points on Wonderkids across the UK…
Armando Broja must leave Chelsea this summer in order to continue his development, and West Ham would be a great move for him according to Dave Azzopardi.
The Hammers are reportedly close to sealing a £30m move for the Albania international, although Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says he expects the player to stay at the club.
But Azzopardi believes the 20-year-old must leave for regular first-team minutes, and feels the London Stadium would be a great fit for him as they’re calling out for an out and out number nine in their team.
“I think so,” he told The Football Wonderkids. “With West Ham being such a solid team, Broja started off the season quite well. I remember seeing him at the Molineux, he almost reminded me sort of like a Mitrovic type player.
“Big, strong forward but he’s got a lot more to his game now. He’s quite quick as well. I think he’s got to leave Chelsea. I don’t think he’s going to get the game time there.
“So stay in England, not too far away is going to be beneficial for him. West Ham, although they’ve done quite well, they really lack a proper number nine I think. I know they’ve got Antonio there whose chipped in with the goals, but they’ve never really had for the last couple of years a proper number nine.
“So with a real out and out striker like Broja will be interesting to see how they get on.
“I think he’ll replace him [Antonio]. That’s not to say that Antonio isn’t going to get game time because I think he still will. He’s quite versatile, so he can play out wide. But I think if you’re spending the amount of money that they’re probably going to spending on him, then you’d expect him to be starting quite regularly ahead of Antonio.”
In other West Ham news, Amadou Onana is ready for a Premier League move amid interest from the club says Zach Lowy