'Both expected to..' - Fabrizio Romano reveals major transfer update regarding Everton target and Chelsea star

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Everton target and Chelsea forward Armando Broja is ‘expected to leave’ after his pre-season struggles.

The Armenian featured at Euro 2024 playing in all of their three group games and later joined Enzo Maresca’s side for their pre-season preparations. Having featured against Wrexham and Club America, he watched on from the bench against Celtic and Manchester City before being left out of their most recent squad against Real Madrid. He certainly didn’t help his case by producing an awful finish when one-one-one with Club America keeper, further demonstrating his lack of potency in front of goal.

As a result, his future looks set to be away from Stamford Bridge as the club already have Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu at their disposal - and reports suggest they are trying to sign another striker. Following last night’s game, Romano took to X to confirm the latest transfer decision by the club.

He wrote: ‘Armando Broja and David Datro Fofana are both expected to leave Chelsea on permanent transfer. Broja, not even in the squad tonight.’ Previously, it was reported that Everton had been in talks over a potential move, with figures such as £25.2m, according to a report from Spanish publication AS.

The future of Everton’s strikeforce very much depends on the club’s decision over Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Having entered the final year of his deal, the club are unsure if any clubs will move on their interest for the forward. A valuation of around £20m has been reported and there had been interest from Manchester United and West Ham - but both sides have since signed Joshua Zirkzee and Niclas Fulkrug respectively, which perhaps closes the door on any potential move.

Broja, 22, has endured a difficult two seasons as part of the Chelsea squad. He has managed just three goals in 38 games and his time is set to come to an end. The most devastating version of the 1.91m forward was during his loan spell at Southampton in the 2021/22 season; he managed nine goals in 38 games in all competitions on loan from the London club and his pace and power caused problems for defences across the league.

However, his momentum was completely killed by a cruciate ligament tear which restricted his game time in the 2022/23 campaign, which saw him miss up 274 days. Since returning, he hasn’t looked quite as powerful or quick in what was a heartbreak moment. If Everton are to recruit a forward, they need a reliable goal scorer to arrive given that Calvert-Lewin netted eight goals last season while Beto struggled in reserve.