Chelsea transfer ‘in danger of collapsing’ with move ‘unlikely to happen’ after ‘paperwork issue’

Premier League new boys Ipswich Town are now ‘unlikely’ to sign Armando Broja from Chelsea, according to reports.

Chelsea are desperate to sell players before the August 30 deadline, with several first-team players currently training with the Under-21s.

Broja was expected to leave the Blues on loan with an obligation to buy if Ipswich avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Enzo Maresca’s side would prefer to sell the Albanian international this summer but with less than a week left in the summer transfer window, that agreement has to suit them.

Fellow academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah and big-money signings Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are also training with the kids and expected to leave.

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Speaking earlier this week, Maresca insisted Chelsea are not a “mess” right now because 15-20 players they are paying big wages are not involved in first-team training.

“I am not working with 42 players, that is something from outside,” the club’s new head coach said. “I’m working with 21 players. The other 15 or 20, they are training apart.

“They are Chelsea players but they are not working with me. I don’t see them. It’s not a mess like it looks from outside, absolutely not.

“You (the media) like to say we are 43 players. But more than 15 players are training apart. They are not with the team.”

Broja to Ipswich ‘in danger of collapsing’

One of the 15 players is Broja, whose move to Ipswich ‘is in danger of collapsing’, according to several reports.

There are reportedly ‘paperwork issues’ and while the deal is not off at this moment in time, the Tractor Boys ‘are considering alternative forwards’.

It is emphasised that the paperwork problem comes down to Broja failing to reach an agreement with Kieran McKenna’s side and is not on Chelsea’s end.

Fabrizio Romano adds that the deal ‘could collapse’ and is now ‘unlikely to happen’.

He wrote on X: ‘Armando Broja’s move to Ipswich Town from Chelsea could collapse as there are issues after formal steps in last 48h. Unlikely to happen at this stage with all parties now exploring different solutions.’

Chelsea are back in Premier League action against Wolves on Sunday after a 2-0 opening-day defeat to champions Manchester City.

Maresca did get his first competitive win as Blues head coach at home to Servette in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

With Chelsea currently employing more than 40 first-team players, Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has said predicting Maresca’s starting XI is “pretty much impossible”.

“It’s pretty much impossible for me to predict the Chelsea line-up but, there are so many there,” O’Neil said.

“We know some that definitely won’t be in the team but figuring out what they’re going to do will be tough.

“We will try and give the best account of ourselves and try start the Premier League season at home with a win, which will be huge for us.”

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