Chelsea will be hoping to return to winning ways when they face Brighton and Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues have endured a mixed start to the season, winning four and losing five of their 13 Premier League games so far.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side currently occupy tenth place in the table, and the Argentine will be desperate to see his side improve in the coming weeks.
The Seagulls will undoubtedly provide a tough test for Chelsea, though, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side having themselves returned to winning ways against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Scoring goals has proved difficult for Chelsea so far this season, with the exception of a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur and a 4-4 draw with reigning champions Manchester City.
With that in mind, the Blues are set to reject interest from West London rivals Fulham in striker Armando Broja, according to The Evening Standard.
Broja has recently returned after a long injury lay-off
The report claims that the Cottagers have made a move to sign the 22-year-old striker in January, as they look to sign a replacement for Aleksander Mitrovic, who departed to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal over the summer.
Raul Jimenez – signed from Wolves during the recent transfer window – has struggled since moving to Craven Cottage, scoring just once in the Premier League since his move.
Fulham are therefore keen to sign a new striker, but it is claimed that Chelsea have no plans to allow Broja to leave and will instead give the Albanian a more prominent role in the near future.
Broja is a product of the club’s youth academy and has made 25 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring twice.
He broke into the first team last season and looked set to become a regular for the Blues, before suffering a cruciate ligament tear that ruled him out of action for several months.
The Albania international scored against Fulham last month on his first start since returning from injury, and it appears that he has impressed the Cottagers enough to prompt them to make a move to sign him.
https://www.shoot.co.uk/chelsea-to-reject-interest-in-forward-from-london-rival/
