Gary O’Neil has revealed that Wolves did try to sign Chelsea striker Armando Broja on deadline day but were priced out of a deal by Fulham.
A striker was right at the top of Gary O’Neil’s wishlist in the January transfer window but despite their best attempts to land one, Wolves end the transfer window with less firepower than they started
After letting Sasa Kalajdzic and Fabio Silva both leave on loan, the importance of improving that position increased dramatically.
But given their financial restrictions, it became difficult for them to add any players who could add real value, and Wanderers had to settle for just one arrival as Noha Lemina joined from PSG.
Thankfully, Wolves are in a better position than they were last year as their once well-documented scoring struggles have now been eliminated by the brand of football that O’Neil has rubber-stamped at Molineux.
This was prevalent once more in the defeat against Manchester United as Wolves very nearly sealed a special comeback by scoring three goals, however, their hearts were broken by Kobbie Mainoo’s 97th-minute winner.
After the match, O’Neil admitted that the distraction of their clash against Man United scuppered their chances of signing a new striker.
Gary O’Neil wanted Armando Broja to join Wolves
Broja emerged as a target for Wolves in this window as they sought to sign a striker.
Unfortunately, Chelsea demanded a £5 million loan fee to take him on loan and this wasn’t financially feasible for the club.
Instead, Broja joined their Premier League rivals Fulham on deadline day and details have now emerged that the Cottagers will have to pay the Blues £4 million as a maximum loan fee amount, as per Fabrizio Romano, if he starts less than 10 games.
O’Neil wanted to sign the 22-year-old but was unable to force a deal through and part of that was down to the fact Wolves had to play on deadline day while other clubs were doing business.
He said: “Playing football on deadline day is a crazy idea. Yeah, we didn’t manage to get a No 9 in, there were a few I really liked but we couldn’t afford any. We could afford some but not ones that I thought could help us.
“We were speaking to Chelsea for most of the day about Broja but we couldn’t match Fulham. That’s where we’re at as a football club but we haven’t been deducted 10 points.”
For a striker who has only scored eight Premier League goals across his career, a huge loan fee wasn’t worth capturing him.
Ultimately, Wolves have shown they have enough firepower without adding to their ranks and although an injury to a key player can soon change that narrative, not signing Broja isn’t the end of the world, despite O’Neil’s best attempts to sign him.