Fulham and Wolves are in talks over a late move to sign Armando Broja, with Chelsea ready to sell to the striker to help raise transfer funds for a big-money deal for a new No9.
Chelsea want £50million for Broja but both Fulham and Wolves hope to agree a fee below £35m and negotiations are likely to rumble on until deadline day on Thursday.
Any deal is likely to be an initial loan switch, before a permanent transfer in the summer based on performance-related criteria being met.
West Ham had a £33m bid for Broja rejected in the summer but are unlikely to reignite their interest in the 22-year-old.
Broja has scored just two goals in 19 appearances for Chelsea since returning from his serious knee injury last year.
The Blues are ready to offload him this month without securing an immediate replacement.
Chelsea could wait until the summer before bringing in a top-level striker, with Victor Osimhen ready to leave Napoli this summer and open to a move to Stamford Bridge.
Alternative targets including Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Brighton’s Evan Ferguson have also been discussed, with Osimhen being considered as an option to replace Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain if he moves to Real Madrid.
Having let Ian Maatsen leave on loan, Chelsea are expected to boost the squad by keeping hold of youngsters Deivid Washington, Andrey Santos, Diego Moreira and Cesare Casadei, who have all either previously been on loan or subject to loan interest this month.
