Insider ExWHUemployee has claimed that West Ham United have a ‘trump card’ in their bid to sign Armando Broja due to being a London club.
Throughout this summer, the Hammers have been linked with the Chelsea striker and he is believed to be David Moyes’ ‘number-one target’.
However, for that reason, it is no shock to hear Premier League clubs like Newcastle United have an interest – while Everton are also keeping tabs.
And so, with plenty of competition for his signature, a deal will likely be hard to pull off. Still, in a new update from Ex, the insider has stated that West Ham are set to push ahead with the deal this week.
Indeed, while speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, he began by saying: “He is said to be available for around £30-35m if Chelsea are prepared to sanction the deal, which is what we, I think, are prepared to pay.
“The problem is, Chelsea are going to want clauses in that deal, which is where the negotiation is going to be the hardest. They’re going to possibly want a sell-on clause, maybe a buyback clause, and certain clauses after certain milestones are met.”
Should West Ham sign Armando Broja?
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He continued: “He’s got Everton and Newcastle after him, but we are said to be leading the chase because we’ve got the trump card of London as our main selling point now.
“He started at Tottenham’s academy, moved to Chelsea’s academy and was born in Slough. So he’s a local lad, London is his place and he wants to stay there.
“Of course, Newcastle could offer a lot more money which could persuade him, but London is going to be a key thing for us. And he’s said to be happy to move to West Ham, he also knows a couple of the players.
“The club are set to pursue this deal this week. They want to get the deal moving because they’re aware that second, third, fourth targets for the striker position are beginning to get snapped up elsewhere.”
TIF Thoughts on Armando Broja and West Ham…
As Ex mentions, Newcastle could most likely offer him the highest wages of all the clubs interested due to their recently acquired wealth.
With that in mind, if West Ham really do want to land Broja, they will have to sell their project to him. And judging from these latest quotes, the fact that he can continue living in London really does sound as though it could be a decisive factor for the ‘local lad’.
With the Hammers now supposedly set to ‘pursue this deal this week’, it will be interesting to see if they can take the upper hand in negotiations.
And with the player currently not on Chelsea’s pre-season tour, now may be the perfect time to pounce.