West Ham shift attention to Chelsea after seeing bid rejected for South American striker

West Ham United target Chelsea striker Armando Broja after Aston Villa reject their bid for Jhon Duran

Premier League side West Ham United have shifted their focus to Chelsea’s striker, Armando Broja, after Aston Villa turned down their bid for Jhon Duran.

The Guardian reveals, (h/t Metro), that Unai Emery wants to keep the 20-year-old, who has yet to start a Premier League game this season. Duran has mostly appeared as a substitute, making 14 league games this campaign.

The Hammers are looking to reinforce their attacking options and made a loan bid for Duran with an option to buy next summer. But the Villains didn’t entertain any proposals forcing the Londoners to look elsewhere.

David Moyes’ side is desperately looking to add more depth to their front line given that Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta are out injured while Mohammed Kudus is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana.

Moyes’ only options at the moment are Jarred Bowen and Danny Ings. Bringing in another attacker, atleast on a short-term basis is imperative. They can look to sign Broja, who has been made available by the Blues.

Chelsea have lowered the Albanian’s asking price to  £35 million and are also accepting a loan fee with an obligation to buy next summer. This will be an excellent chance for the Hammers to land the promising talent.

To acquire him, though, will need competition from teams like Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as the Blues hope to turn a profit on the sales of their academy players. Broja meets the Blues’ criteria for a revenue-generating player—he has scored two goals this season—but if the team decides to sign a new centre-forward for the upcoming campaign, one forward will undoubtedly have to leave and it could be the 22-year-old who is second choice option currently.

More Chelsea News

• Trevoh Chalobah’s return from a long-term injury has sparked interest from Fulham
• Armando Broja becomes latest academy player Chelsea prepared to sell in January
• Chelsea set to face another approach from Liverpool for Levi Colwill

Numerous academy players have left the team and joined other teams out of self-interest. Broja will find West Ham to be a fantastic alternative because they are performing better than Wolves and the Cottagers.