Chelsea’s decision to shut down exit talk for their backup player reveals their commitment to pursuing a top forward

Chelsea’s decision to shut down exit talk for their backup player reveals their commitment to pursuing a top forward

Yesterday we heard from Nizaar Kinsella that Chelsea are determined to turn down any attempts to sign Armando Broja in January, with Fulham apparently in hot pursuit of the striker.

That’s fine by us – we still want Broja to get a decent crack at this team, and he’s waited a season and a half for the chance. But as Jason Pettigrove at Caughtoffside noted, the news has some slightly worrying undertones.

Pochettino’s total resistance to letting Broja go likely means it’s certain that we won’t be bringing in a top striker option in January – not that that was ever likely.

In fact, perhaps it makes more sense to put it the other way around – if and when we’ve got a player coming in up front, one of Nicolas Jackson or Broja will swiftly be on the exit ramp to make room.

So while long term we expect the club to take another shot at a number 9, for now this news hints that that’s not happening.