Chelsea are prepared to listen to straight loan offers for striker Armando Broja after failing to drum up sufficient interest in a permanent sale, according to reports.
The Blues had previously knocked back interest from both Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers after the two sides failed to meet their demands of an obligation to buy in any bid for the 22-year-old striker.
A £50m asking price, which Chelsea set in comparison to Rasmus Hojlund’s £72m move to Manchester United, has also scared off suitors, even though offers worth over £35m would likely have been considered.
With Deadline Day now upon us, David Ornstein broke news that Chelsea are prepared to listen to straight loan offers for Broja before the January window closes.
A purchase clause is no longer mandatory but Chelsea are still demanding a sizeable fee, believed to be around £5m, to send Broja out on loan.
Both Fulham and Wolves remain keen on Broja and a permanent sale has not yet been ruled out officially, with talks expected to continue across Thursday.
Should neither suitor present a suitable offer, Chelsea will keep Broja until the summer and then reassess their options as they prepare for the arrival of a big-name striker.
Chelsea are among the leading suitors for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, whose contract contains a release clause worth over £100m, and would ideally like to sell Broja to help fund such a move. The Albania international is already behind Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order and would drop to third choice if a player of Osimhen’s calibre were to arrive in the summer.
Conor Gallagher remains linked with a switch to Tottenham but such a move appears unlikely at this stage in the window, while Trevoh Chalobah is also available for transfer.