11 months ago
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West Ham have seen a bid for Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran turned down, with their attention turning to Chelsea’s Armando Broja.
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The Hammers are shot of options up front and looked to solve that problem with an offer to take Duran on loan for the rest of the season with an option to buy.
The Guardian reports that the Villains have turned down the bid for the 20-year-old, despite the Colombian not starting a single Premier League game yet this season.
Despite struggling to get into Unai Emery’s starting XI, he has been involved, making 14 top flight appearances, all coming from the substitutes’ bench, scoring two goals.
Villa do not want to let the young prospect go, so West Ham have to look elsewhere as David Moyes looks to boost his options in attack.
With Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta out injured and Mohammed Kudus at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana, the Hammers are lacking options up front.
Jarrod Bowen returned from injury on Sunday to start at Sheffield United alongside Danny Ings, but Moyes does not have much depth beyond that.
The Hammers will join the likes of Wolves and Fulham in showing an interest in Broja, who is available for transfer.
Chelsea had been looking for £50m for the Albania international, but reports suggest that price has dropped to around £35m and the Blues will even be willing to accept an initial loan.
The 22-year-old has scored just one Premier League goals this season in 13 appearances, managing the same total in 12 appearances over the last campaign.
Broja has impressed on previous loan spells at Vitesse and Southampton, but with just 23 goals in 108 career appearances, even at the reduced £35m he would represent a gamble.
MORE : Brighton CEO Paul Barber speaks out over Evan Ferguson’s future amid Chelsea transfer interest
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