Armando Broja leaves Chelsea with just one No.9! Fulham sign Blues striker in £4m loan deal by the skin of their teeth on deadline day

The Albanian had been the subject of much talk this transfer window with Wolves looking the early frontrunners to land his signature. Chelsea rejected their approach earlier this week but the Blues have reached an agreement with their London neighbours. Fulham signed Broja on a simple six-month loan for a fee which will rise to £4m depending on performance-related add-ons.

The loan move is a sign of Chelsea's stark realisation of the current state of the market. The Blues initially demanded £50m ($64m) for the forward, but with teams hamstrung financially this winter they elected to drop that figure to £35m ($45m) before eventually settling for a straight loan with no obligation to buy. While the move should see Broja get more game time, it leaves Mauricio Pochettino with an even more threadbare frontline.

Responsibility has weighed heavy on Nicolas Jackson so far this term but, with Broja gone, the Senegalese remains Pochettino's main option up front, with the injury-hit Christopher Nkunku the only other option of real quality. Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer have each played as a false nine on occasion, but that doesn't seem a viable long-term plan.

The move appears another gamble from Chelsea's owners to raise the market price of a homegrown player in order to balance the books, at the expense of the current squad at Pochettino's disposal. Chelsea fans will hope the same doesn't happen to Conor Gallagher, who has been linked with a move to rivals Tottenham despite playing regularly under the Argentine this term.