Is Duran the new Broja?

Armando Broja, remember him? The young Albanian international striker at Chelsea, who scored 10 goals in 30 appearances on loan at the Dutch club Vitesse in 2020-21, and then scored 6 goals in 32 appearances at Southampton.

During the summer of 2022, West Ham reportedly submitted bids of up to £30m, and he was a top priority for David Moyes. Some tabloids suggested Chelsea was demanding around £50m for their striker. However, after failing to secure the player’s services, West Ham moved on to sign Gianluca Scamacca.

In September 2022, Broja signed a new long-term contract with Chelsea, and much to the annoyance of many West Ham supporters, joined Fulham on loan during the January 2024 transfer window. This proved unremarkable, as he sat on the bench for much of the time, failing to score in his eight starts.

His international record, although still relatively young at 22, reads 5 goals in 23 appearances.

The valuation on his head has dropped to £25m – £30m, and many supporters are pleased that this transfer didn’t happen for West Ham!

Fast forward to the summer of 2024, and the hunt for a striker is very much still on, yet our attention has been directed to Jhon Duran, who is two years younger than Broja. The Colombian international has a similar track record, with 8 goals for Chicago Fire in 27 appearances and five goals in 35 for Aston Villa (though not all of these were starts). His international record is 1 goal in 10 appearances.

Unai Emery is willing to sell for £30m – £40m and as a sweetener, one of the academy players, reported to be Lewis Orford.

However, there is an element of potential about Duran. He scored in only his third appearance for Envigado where he began his career, making his debut at the age of 15 years and 8 months. He was also included in a list of 60 of the best young talents in world football. Duran carried a hefty price tag when he joined Aston Villa back in January 2023, for a fee of £14.75m with £3m in add-ons.

The sad fact is that every club is chasing a forward who scores goals, and the price tag for an established goal-scorer is one West Ham simply can’t afford. It is somewhat disappointing that our global search has not identified a wider list of players, and with the season nearly upon us, it is clear that the club is now moving forward to secure Duran.

I can only hope that Broja isn’t the template for Duran, and with our historical failure to find a suitable striker, that this doesn’t continue. Interestingly, Duran wouldn’t have worked for Moyes, as he is reportedly quite outspoken and was growing impatient with his lack of playing time at Villa.

There are other clubs in the mix keen to secure his services, most notably Chelsea, and clearly, Lopetegui and Steidten have seen enough in the player to make him a key signing.

It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds over the next few days.