Fulham have agreed a deal in principle to sign Chelsea forward Armando Broja
on loan until the end of the season.
The loan fee for the forward could be worth up to £4m - depending on
appearances and performance.
The paperwork for the deal still needs to be finalised but all parties are
hopeful that it will be completed in time for the 11pm deadline.
Broja has made 19 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring
twice.
The 22-year-old was also wanted by Wolves on Deadline Day, but the Molineux
club pulled out of negotiations.
Fulham have recently suffered a striker injury blow with Raul Jimenez ruled
out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury sustained during their 0-0 draw
with Everton on Tuesday.
Earlier on Deadline Day, before an agreement for Broja had been struck,
Fulham manager Marco Silva revealed a centre-forward has been a top target
since the sale of Aleksandr Mitrovic to Saudi Arabia club Al Hilal in the
summer.
"It [wanting a new striker] is not just because Raul Jimenez is injured," he
said. "Even with Raul in our squad, we sold a striker for a big amount of
money last summer, we still haven't replaced him.
"It was important last summer and it was important at the beginning of the
window."
Chelsea, meanwhile, will be left with Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and
Christopher Nkunku as their recognised first-team striking options.
This will also be Broja's first loan spell since his successful stint at
Southampton where he scored nine times in 38 games.
'Broja deadlock finally broken by Fulham'
Sky Sports News' Gary Cotterill at Fulham's Motspur Park training
ground:
"With five hours to go until the deadline, it appears Armando Broja is going
to make that short journey from one west London club to another.
"He lives and trains about eight miles away at the Chelsea training ground,
the South Circular takes him to Fulham and I've been told by the Cottagers
they are working on bringing this deal to a close in time to beat the
transfer deadline.
"There's been a little bit of brinkmanship involved, we know that originally
Chelsea wanted to sell the player, he's a homegrown player so any profit
goes straight into the bank account, but then they realised that wasn't
going to happen and wanted a loan with a £5m loan fee.
"That wasn't good enough for Fulham, they baulked at that price and couldn't
afford it. There's been negotiations going on all day, and we heard from
Marco Silva in his press conference that they were working on it - he wants
a striker because Raul Jimenez has picked up a hamstring injury.
"They've also never really replaced Aleksandar Mitrovic, and he left in the
summer. We understand Broja is on his way to Motspur Way to complete that
move before the deadline."
'Fulham will be hoping Broja can replicate
Southampton form'
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth:
"Fulham have wanted a striker throughout this transfer window. Raul Jimenez
is injured at the moment but even with Jimenez fit and available, Fulham
still wanted to reinforce in that area.
"Yes, Broja hasn't had the best of times in terms of goalscoring with
Chelsea, but he has scored goals in the Premier League before when he was on
loan at Southampton, particularly in the first half of that season.
"Fulham will be hoping that he can show that kind of form when he comes to
Craven Cottage. They have been after him for a while, and they finally have
their man."
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