Chelsea reject formal loan offer from Premier League club for attacker: Reports

Chelsea have rejected a formal loan offer from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers for their attacker Armando Broja, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

A product of Chelsea's youth academy Cobham, Broja announced himself onto the scene during a loan spell at his first senior club in Vitesse. The 22-year-old Albanian grabbed 11 goals and three assists for the Dutch side in the 2020-21 season.

He then earned himself another move to Southampton. He showcased his quality in spurts at St. Mary's, scoring nine goals and assisting one across the 2021-22 season.

However, since his return to Stamford Bridge, Broja has mostly been used as a backup to Romelu Lukaku and Nicolas Jackson, stagnating his career of late.

The Blues have a lot of quality and depth in attack this season. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer, and Noni Madueke have been impressive of late. Moreover, Christopher Nkunku seems to have finally returned from his long-term injuries for good.

This has resulted in Broja being mostly restricted to the bench this season. He has started just eight of his total 19 appearances across competitions this season and contributed two goals and two assists.

Meanwhile, Wolves lost their marquee Mexican marksman Raul Jimenez to Fulham at the start of the season. They have loaned their backup Sasa Kalajdzic to Frankfurt till the end of this season.

The star this season, Hee-chan Hwang, has left the squad for his Asian Cup duties with Korea Republic. He has also been struggling with a nagging hip injury there as well. This leaves them with Matheus Cunha as their only established striker, and they are desperately looking for depth in their frontline.

However, from Chelsea's point of view, the move to reject the loan is justifiably fair. They were without their main striker Jackson, who was away at AFCON with Senegal but has also struggled with just seven league goals in 17 games.

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Chelsea miss out on signing of English wonderkid to Crystal Palace

Chelsea have missed out on the signing of English wonderkid Adam Wharton from Blackburn Rovers. The Championship side have accepted a £22 million bid from fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

After generating a huge buzz with his performances this season, 19-year-old Wharton was the subject of interest for many Premier League clubs. He has scored two and provided three more in 29 appearances for Blackburn in the 2023-24 season.

Wharton put in an impressive performance at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, albeit in a 2-0 loss for the Rovers in the EFL Cup Round of 16. This put the Blues on notice and they have been chasing his services ever since.

Chelsea will feel like they have missed out on a future star in Wharton, but the Blues need not worry about the future of their midfield yet. They have already recalled their wonderkids Cesare Casadei and Andrey Santos from Leicester City and Nottingham Forest respectively this month.