A gutting Newcastle United claim has emerged on their pursuit of Armando Broja in the summer transfer window... 

What's the talk?

According to Luke Edwards in The Telegraph, the Magpies are not in the race to land the Albanian international ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

The report claims that the player has made it clear that he will only leave Chelsea if he is guaranteed regular football as a first-choice option.

It is stated that the Toon wanted him to come in to challenge their current attackers instead of being the go-to number nine, which has put their interest to bed.

Express reporter Ryan Taylor has also cast doubt over a deal, telling GIVEMESPORT:

“Everton and Newcastle are definitely still interested, but Newcastle would prefer a loan. But a source close to Broja tells me he’s only interested in a permanent move. He doesn’t want to go out on loan again.”

Supporters will be fuming

This claim from Edwards will leave supporters fuming as it is stated that the club would want him to be a back-up option to Callum Wilson, which is the stumbling block causing the deal to stop dead.

The frustrating part of that for the fans will be that the Magpies are looking for a player with the view to them playing second fiddle to the Englishman.

His injury record suggests that Newcastle cannot afford to go into another campaign with him being their go-to option up front and it seems unlikely that a worthwhile signing will be willing to come in as a squad player.

In two seasons on Tyneside, Wilson has missed a whopping 35 matches through injury. This came after he was out for 67 games in five years at Bournemouth. He is an injury-prone striker who cannot be relied upon to make 30+ appearances in the Premier League next term - starting 16 in 2021/22 and 23 in 2020/21 for the Toon.

These statistics suggest that Newcastle need a frontline number nine option who has the quality and durability to lead the line for the majority of the campaign, rather than crossing their fingers and hoping Wilson overcomes his persistent issues.

Therefore, the fans will be fuming with the stance from the club that any striker coming in will be a back-up to the ex-Cherries attacker, particularly now that it looks set to cause them to miss out on Broja.

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