Armando Broja’s Chelsea future outlined amid Newcastle United and Everton transfer interest

Newcastle United are interested in signing Chelsea striker Armando Broja as Eddie Howe looks to strengthen his forward options.

The focus on the Magpies’ recruitment front now turns to the attacking areas following the defensive arrivals of Nick Pope, Sven Botman and Matt Targett.

England goalkeeper Pope arrives from Burnley to rival Martin Dubravka for the No.1 spot, while Targett is a permanent addition from Aston Villa after his successful loan spell last season.

A lot of time and hard work went into signing top centre-back target Botman from Lille as United saw off strong competition from Italian champions AC Milan.

Now, Howe is hoping to recruit a wide forward and striker as back-up to Callum Wilson and Chris Wood, with Broja emerging as a target after a move for Reims star Hugo Ekitike stalled over agent fees.

What Thomas Tuchel has said

And as Newcastle wait to see how things develop following his successful loan spell at Southampton last season, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has already outlined his plans for the Albanian international.

Asked about Broja and Conor Gallagher - who was on loan at Crystal Palace last term - Tuchel said: “They will come back, for sure, because they are our players.

“When we [send] them on loan, we do this for them but also for us, to have better players, more experienced players back.

“They are our players and I want to have them in pre-season and in pre-season we will decide what’s going on.

“It’s heavily linked to them - how they integrate and what they do and what our ideas are for them and what they want to reach.”

It’s clear Newcastle must sit tight until Chelsea make a decision on the 20-year-old’s future with Tuchel keen to assess him in pre-season.

Broja scored nine goals in 38 appearances for the Saints.