Wolves leads race in pursuit of £30m striker amidst interest from other clubs

After the 2023 summer transfer window saw a mass exodus at Molineux, Gary O’Neil will hope to bolster his squad this summer.

Wolves have already been linked to a host of players ahead of the upcoming window, as the manager bids to add depth and quality to his 14th-place finishing side.

It’s clear that O’Neil desires a new number nine ahead of next season, with one January target now rumoured to be of interest once more.

Wolves missed out on signing Armando Broja in January, as Fulham captured the Chelsea loanee until the end of the campaign.

Now, the 22-year-old is set to be available this summer, with Wolves back in the running to sign the striker permanently.

A report from The Standard now claims that Wolves are joined by Monaco and Bologna as the clubs ‘pushing hard’ to quickly sign the forward from the Blues.

The Old Gold may be able to sign Broja for less than £30 million because Chelsea has reduced their asking price; however, they will first need to overcome competition from throughout Europe.

Bologna and Monaco are both scheduled to participate in the Champions League the next season, thus O’Neil’s team may have a difficult time signing the Albanian, who might be drawn to playing among Europe’s best.

How hard should Wolves push for Broja?

While Chelsea did lower their initial £50m asking price, a fee of around £30m is still incredibly high for a player who can’t quite be branded as Premier League-proven.

Given that Wolves are in desperate need of a reliable centre-forward, questions must be asked as to whether Broja is that man.

In 66 Premier League appearances, the forward has eight league goals to his name, via Transfermarkt, numbers that don’t warrant a price tag as high as Chelsea are holding out for.

What O’Neil needs right now is more than just that; being in the box is one thing, but being a player who can create opportunities is another.

That’s not to say Broja isn’t a talented player; in fact, O’Neil could bring out the best in the out-of-favour striker, but his Premier League experience hasn’t yielded anything thus far.It will be interesting to watch how Wolves handle this, since the club needs to avoid making the same mistakes it did in the past when it comes to overpayments.