Chelsea open to sale of striker this window with three Premier League clubs keen: report

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Chelsea are open to a permanent departure for one striker – despite their lack of options up front this season.

Christopher Nkunku is anticipated to make a return from injury soon, after sustaining a knock, after being sidelined for the initial four months of the season with a knee injury. He’s been unavailable for Chelsea’s last three matches due to a hip problem.

Nicolas Jackson is currently on duty representing Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Armando Broja faced a delayed start to the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in December 2022. He found his way back to action in September during the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Christopher Nkunku has had a stop-start Chelsea career thus far (Image credit: Getty Images)Now though, The Athletic reports that the club are willing to listen to offers for Broja and that any potential move does not hinge on Chelsea securing a replacement. Several clubs, including Fulham, West Ham, and Wolves, have expressed interest in the 22-year-old forward.

The Albania international, who scored nine goals in 38 games on loan at Southampton in the 2021/22 season, has scored two goals and provided one assist for Chelsea this season. His recent goal came in Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Preston North End in the FA Cup earlier this month.

“It was really important for him,” Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino said of Broja’s goal against the Championship outfit. “I need to be honest, he needs to use this type of game to score and to feel the net and to improve. Improve not only in his fitness, but his body language also. He needs to step up and to go forward and to move. He needs to be more positive.

Armando Broja could be sold this month (Image credit: Getty)“The potential is amazing. We’re talking about one of the young strikers in England and in Europe with the most potential. But the problem now is he needs to push himself, and we’re going to try to help him to realise that never it is enough.

“He was nearly one year away (injured) and of course now he needs time. It’s not easy for him to perform and to be at the level we expect. Our expectation is massive and we really believe in him. We’re going to push him to improve every day.

“I said to him, ‘Smile’. Always we joke about how he needs to smile, to laugh, to put inside himself more good energy and be more happy, a happy boy.”

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Jacque Talbot is a freelance football journalist who predominantly specialises in transfer stories and exclusives. He began his career in 2016 covering the world-renowned Sandbach United, of North West Counties fame, before earning a spot on the sports desks of national papers, where he bounced between several outlets such as Sportbible, the Express, Mirror, and Daily Star. An NCTJ graduate of the News Associates who swapped investigative journalism in the Costa del Sol for football reporting in Northern England, he first wrote for FourFourTwo in December 2023.