There are at least six clubs in the battle to try and sign Armando Broja from Chelsea in the upcoming summer transfer window. That’s according to GOAL, who are reporting interest from AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Southampton.
Broja, who is valued at €40million (£33.8m) on CIES Football Observatory, has been in fine form on loan at Southampton this season, scoring nine goals in all competitions for the Saints. The Albanian has come through the Blues’ academy system and has a contract at Stamford Bridge until the summer of 2026.
So, from Chelsea’s point of view, there is no immediate rush to offload the 20-year-old striker. However, if they can acquire a sizeable fee for his services, then it could spell good business for the club.
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Chelsea have had goal scoring problems this season, though, and perhaps Broja could be the solution to that next term. This is why it’s such a big decision for Thomas Tuchel to make.
At the moment, the Blues have the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, who can all play as the number nine in Tuchel’s system. The futures of Lukaku and Werner, though, are uncertain right now and they could be offloaded when the summer transfer window opens.
The club face a similar situation with Conor Gallagher, who is currently on loan at Crystal Palace. Like Broja, Gallagher has shown tremendous form for his temporary side and Chelsea face a big decision regarding his future at the end of the season.
“First of all, they will come back because they are our players,” Tuchel said recently about Gallagher and Broja. “When we give them on loan, we do this for them but also for us to have better, more experienced players back.
“They are our players and I want to have them in pre-season and then we decide what’s going on. It’s heavily linked to them, to how they integrate and what they do and what our ideas are for them and what they want to reach.
“It’s heavily linked to our sanctions, the situation around the club. It is too early to predict the future for them given the role of the whole season, but they will be back for pre-season.”
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said earlier this year that he wants to keep Broja at St. Mary’s beyond the expiry of his loan deal. “He likes it here, he loves it here,” the Saints manager said on Broja.
“It would be great if he was our player. He wants to be with us, I think. You can feel this at every moment. The fans love him also, this is good.”
It might not be as simple as that for Hasenhuttl and Southampton, though, because it’s clear that Tuchel is a big fan of Broja. “Armando is getting better and better,” the Chelsea head coach said back in January.
“He is a very unique player with some very unique strengths in his game. His speed, he is robust. He is a goal scorer.”