A major claim has emerged on Newcastle United target Armando Broja and his immediate future in the summer transfer window...

What's the talk?

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that their Premier League rivals West Ham are closing in on a swoop to sign the Albania international ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

He Tweeted: "West Ham and Chelsea are still in talks on final details of the deal like potential buy back clause or not, add ons… but the agreement for Armando Broja is really close and it will be permanent deal. Broja is now pushing, that’s why he’s flying back to England."

The Telegraph's Luke Edwards has added that the Magpies are not going to attempt to hijack the transfer at the last minute.

Supporters will be gutted

This news will surely leave Toon supporters gutted as Broja would have been an exciting and excellent addition to Eddie Howe's squad.

He enjoyed an eye-catching first season in the Premier League last term as he spent the campaign on loan at Southampton. The gem scored nine goals in all competitions for the Saints and found the back of the net six times in 21 league starts.

Broja has also scored four goals and assisted two in three starts for Albania in the UEFA Nations League and World Cup qualifiers since the start of 2021/22.

This means that he managed 13 goals and two assists in 27 starts for club and country, which shows that he has the quality to make an impact at the top end of the pitch. He has shown that he can perform in the Premier League, albeit not to amazing heights yet, and he still has plenty of room left to grow and develop in the years to come.

At the age of 20, Broja is in the infancy of his professional career and has the potential to become a top striker in England, given that he has already shown promising signs in limited game time in the top-flight so far.

Newcastle would have been signing a player with the ability to score goals and bolster the attack in the immediate future, whilst also investing in a talented youngster for the future.

Therefore, supporters will be gutted by the news that he is on his way to West Ham as it means that they will not be able to watch him in action for the Magpies next season, and in the years to come.

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