Journalist Simon Phillips via Substack has linked Ipswich Town with an ambitious summer move for Chelsea striker Armando Broja, as Kieran McKenna looks to add firepower to his ranks ahead of Town’s Premier League campaign.
The Tractor Boys will face competition for his signature, as European clubs such as Monaco and AC Milan are reportedly keen, whilst fellow Premier League sides Wolves, Everton and Crystal Palace all reportedly hold an interest in the Blues striker.
Championship side Watford have also recently been linked by French outlet L’Equpe, with an even more ambitious summer move for Broja, as they look to pull off what they would see as one of the biggest coups in recent transfer history.
The Albanian international spent the second half of last season on loan at Fulham, but the Cottagers opted against making his loan move a permanent one this summer, even after Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has reportedly slashed Broja’s £50m price tag down to £30m.
Carlton Palmer:
Speaking exclusively to Football League World, pundit Carlton Palmer believes that He said: “Chelsea have said that Armando Broja is available and can leave the club.
“Originally they were asking for £50m, they’ve now cut that price to £30m. I think this will have something to do with the fact that he went out on loan to Fulham, they paid a £4m loan fee for him, and he only started 10 or so matches.
“He didn’t feature highly, but the 22-year-old is still under contract at Chelsea for another four years. Before that move to Fulham, there was a lot of interested parties who were interested in signing him, and it just hasn’t happened with him.
“So of course the fee is going to come down a little bit, I think £30-35m is still a lot of money, and his salary on top of that is still a lot of money for Armando Broja. He’s not proven that he can do it at Premier League level.
The sort of fee Broja would command is a lot for a newly promoted side, but is there a better option much closer to home that Ipswich should explore over Broja? “Ipswich Town are reportedly looking at the player for next season, I would think they would be better off pursuing the signing of Kieffer Moore,” Palmer said.
“Who came on loan from Bournemouth and done a fantastic job for them. I think he would be a better signing for them than Armando Broja. I think £30m is too much.
But of course, given the fact that Chelsea still have him under contract for four or five years, they’ll want that type of money for him. I think the likelihood is that Broja will either go out on loan in Europe or back in the Championship, or they’ll have to sell him for a cut-price fee.
“I think that he’s not shown enough at that level for me to be looking at £30-35m
Spending big money is not something that Ipswich Town have garnered a reputation for, the very fabric of their Championship promotion-winning squad was woven in shrewd loan deals, bargain bin signings and free agents.
Therefore, if the club were to go against that philosophy for a player and part with they type of money it will take to recruit Broja, fans would hope that the player in question would ensure their money is being invested safely.
That wouldn’t be the case with Broja, as the Albanian begins to creep away from the excuses of youth, and into the category of needing to see production soon.
Six goals is the most Broja has ever scored in a single Premier League season, and those came in 32 top-flight appearances for Southampton in the 2021/22 season – per FotMob.
Therefore, Ipswich would be perhaps wiser to not blow a significant amount of their budget on a fairly unproven Premier League striker, and instead carry on with their recruitment philosophy that he helped get them to where they are in the first place – shrewd signings, smaller transfer fees, and excellent scouting.
