Armando Broja joins Fulham on loan from Chelsea

Armando Broja has finally joined Fulham, initially on loan from Chelsea till the conclusion of the 2023–2024 campaign.

Before this Thursday’s transfer deadline, Chelsea had been trying to move Broja, but they had been insisting on a permanent deal for any prospective departure for the majority of January.

On deadline day, though, they softened their position and accepted direct loan offers—as long as there was money involved. Fulham, who had lost Raul Jimenez to injury, beat Wolves to sign him. After Fulham sent the Premier League a transaction document, the transfer was officially completed soon after midnight on Friday.

A basic fee of £750,000 has been reported to be paid by Fulham to Chelsea; but, if certain conditions are met, the amount might increase to £4 million. Though Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino compared Broja to Harry Kane last week, it is noteworthy that he was left off of their starting lineup in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to Liverpool.

Having lagged behind Nicolas Jackson in the standings for the majority of the season, the Albanian international has two goals and two assists in 19 games for Chelsea this season. Since returning from his AFCON assignment with Senegal, Jackson has played up front for Spurs, and Pochettino has occasionally done so.

Since the 2021–2022 season, when he scored nine goals in 38 appearances for Southampton, this will be Broja’s first loan away from Chelsea. Although an injury kept him out of the last rounds of Albania’s qualification campaign, Broja still hopes to play for his country in Euro 2024.