‘I pushed really hard’: Premier League boss admits he was desperate to sign 22-year-old Chelsea man in January

One Premier League manager has now admitted that he was really keen for his side to bring in one player from Chelsea during the January transfer window.

He told the Evening Standard that their move to bring him in midway through the season came off the back of him pushing to sign him the previous summer too.

The January window was actually a quiet one for the Blues, with them not actually signing a player on a permanent deal.

Instead, the main story was Armando Broja being moved out on loan to Fulham, however the deal has not taken off up to now.

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Broja struggling at Fulham

He has hardly featured for his new side down the road in West London, and this has already seen the Blues entitled to the loan fee that was included in the deal.

However, they will have been hoping for him to be able to prove his worth for his new side, either to make an impression on them or other sides who could be interested in a permanent deal.

Silva pushed for Broja

Fulham are one of those sides who have reportedly been keen on a move for him permanently in the past, with Marco Silva again reiterating that he is behind their interest in signing him.

He said: “It’s been difficult for him and it’s been difficult for me as well. I was the main one responsible for him being at this football club. I pushed really hard for him to be here. I have to say that, last summer, I tried to sign him when we sold Mitrovic.

“He’s a player I really appreciate. He has all the abilities to play at the highest level.

“Last few games we’ve had everybody available. Issa Diop, for example, has been a starting XI player so many times this season and the last three games was out of the squad list as well. No one speaks about that because he’s not a Chelsea player.

“It’s been tougher for Armando, with all his ambition to play. When you go for a loan in the last days of the market, you expect the player to come and have an impact. But when you have a striker scoring goals the way he [Muniz] has been scoring, it is not giving chances for the others.”

Broja will be hoping for an opportunity soon, with him likely still feeling he has the belief that he can be the man at Stamford Bridge.

This is because there is still no permanent answer to the striker situation at Stamford Bridge, despite the more impressive displays from Nicolas Jackson in 2024.