Watford linked with ambitious Chelsea transfer swoop | OneFootball

Chelsea's Armando Broja is reportedly being chased by Watford as they look to add firepower to their attack under new permanent boss Tom Cleverley.

French outlet L'Equipe has credited the Hornets with an unlikely interest in the Albanian international, but they are reportedly behind AS Monaco in the race for his signature, with the Ligue 1 side having already approached Chelsea over a potential deal.

The Blues forward has had spells on loan at Vitesse, Southampton and Fulham in recent years, and could bring his fifteen-year association with his boyhood club to a permanent end this summer.

He began last season fighting for a place in Mauricio Pochettino's team, but could only manage two goals in 19 appearances before joining Fulham on loan in January and failing to impress for Marco Silva's side.

Armando Broja latest transfer update

According to the BBC, Broja has interest from Monaco, AC Milan and Wolves, with Fulham not interested in making his loan deal a permanent one for the 2024/25 season.

L'Equipe has stated that Watford are 'attentive to Broja's situation,' but Monaco are ahead in the race, with bonuses and a sell-on fee also likely to be involved in any deal for the 22-year-old.

The BBC have also revealed that the Blues' apparent £50m January valuation of Broja could drop to between £25m and £30m ahead of the summer window - but that still seems a long way off any potential figure that Watford would be willing to spend, making it an unlikely deal unless he was to be loaned out to the Hornets.

However, Fabrizio Romano has reported that Broja 'will leave Chelsea on (a) permanent deal,' so it would take a serious amount of money from Watford's player sales to fund any possible transfer for him.

Broja and Watford could work

While a deal may seem improbable on the face of it - a move to a play-off-chasing second-tier side with a passionate, young boss could be exactly what Broja needs to properly kick-start his career.

His most successful senior seasons so far have been at Vitesse in 2020/21, where he netted 11 in 34 in all competitions, and Southampton in 2021/22, where he scored nine in 38 games in all competitions - decent returns for a young player, but his consistent scoring at youth level has not yet translated into the men's game, and that could be attributed to Chelsea trying to speed up his progress as they looked to create a goalscorer rather than pay a huge transfer fee to bring one in.

Watford could offer a chance for him to play regular games at a strong, competitive level, at a club close to home with ambitions to improve on a 15th-placed finish in 2023/24.

Whether the Hornets actually have the money to bring him to the club is a different matter - they have not spent over £10m on a player since Imran Louza signed from FC Nantes in 2021 - so it would be a shock to see them stump up the cash needed to bring Broja to the club.

Regardless, if he does not want to permanently move away from his birth country, then Watford could be a good place for him to find his feet again and prove why he is so highly-rated across Europe.