Openda, Gimenez and six forwards better value than rip-off Broja

Robin Bairner

• 18 Jan 2024 05:45 CST
• 3 min read

Chelsea striker Armando Broja may have been put up for sale, but there is little prospect of seeing the Albania international striker departing in January at the price the Blues have set.

Multiple reports indicate that Chelsea expect to receive a little over €58 million (£50m) for the striker rather than loaning him out.

Fulham and Wolves are reportedly interested in a temporary deal but the Blues are pushing for a sale. Aston Villa and West Ham are long-term admirers of the player, the Standard reports, but at the price that is being asked, a transfer is not seen as realistic.

Broja has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €20m, while data analytics experts SciSport give him a potential of 94.4 using their SciSkill metric.

Looking at other players of a similar age (20-25) and playing style to Broja, it’s easy to see that compared to what is on the market elsewhere, he is overpriced. These could be players that Aston Villa or West Ham turn to later in the window.

Better options than Broja

RB Leipzig forward Lois Openda, for example, left Lens to joined RB Leipzig in the summer for €38.5m and has a potential of 112.6. Given his success at the Bundesliga side, if he is to leave, it will be for a fee well excess of his market worth presently, which is just under €51m – less than Chelsea are asking for Broja.

Openda, meanwhile, has scored 11 times in 17 Bundesliga matches this season compared to Broja’s single Premier League goal.

He is not the only example, though. Lille striker Jonathan David is on the transfer market and would likely move for a similar fee as Chelsea are demanding for Broja. The 24-year-old, though, has a ceiling of 115.3, according to SciSports, well above the Stamford Bridge hitman.

Feyenoord goal-getter Santiago Gimenez is in a similar position. The Eredivisie side have climbed down from their demands of €100m or the Mexico international and would accept an offer of between €40-60m for the forward.

Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo, PSG outcast Hugo Ekitike and even Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic (at least before his hot spell of form) are all players both better than Broja currently and with more potential who might have left for less.

It remains to be seen just how much of this is brinkmanship from Chelsea, and whether they ultimately back down as January progresses when it becomes clear that they cannot move the No.9 on, but Broja’s price is set significantly too high.