Chelsea in another shock striker twist after Osimhen and Toney

Tom Weber

• Updated: 30 Aug 2024 23:49 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea's Deadline Day was dominated by news about Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney, but there has also been a fresh twist in the Armando Broja saga.

The Blues had wanted to add a proven, prolific number nine all summer but ultimately could not sign the man they were chasing for months. An agreement with Victor Osimhen could not be reached and the striker will instead now likely remain at Napoli.

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Unless a late Saudi offer comes in - the Pro League window closes on September 2 - Osimhen is expected to be frozen out of the Serie A side's team. Al-Ahli, who had been in talks with Osimhen, ended up signing Brentford's Ivan Toney instead, whom Chelsea had also briefly considered.

On the outgoing front, a lot of the focus was on Armando Broja. Ipswich Town picked up remains of their previous negotiation with Chelsea over the forward and restarted the talks despite the Albanian's well-known injury, which will keep him out until October.

Broja deal collapses again

Negotiations between the two clubs were proceeding smoothly - until they weren't. Despite 'optimism' from all parties, the transfer collapsed again, as did Ipswich's talks with Arsenal over Reiss Nelson - he could now move to Fulham.

Instead, David Ornstein of The Athletic now reports that Everton have submitted a dealsheet to sign the Chelsea outcast at the 11th hour. This means that, although the Premier League window is now officially closed, the Toffees still have until 1 a.m. British time to complete his signing.

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Ornstein reports that a deal between Chelsea and Everton has already been agreed on similar terms to Ipswich's initial deal. If they want to sign the 22-year-old permanently, the Merseyside club will have to pay around €36 million. Whether they will be successful in closing the transfer remains to be seen.