Armando Broja is nominated to become the most expensive purchase in Southampton’s history. The twenty-year-old striker, who is currently on loan from Chelsea, can make the switch to . for thirty million euros the Saints. This would make him the most expensive incoming transfer, a record now held by Danny Ings (25 million). Meanwhile, the Albanian saddles his actual employer with a diabolical dilemma. Is now the time to sell Broja or should he be slowly groomed to become Romelu Lukaku’s regular stand-in in the future?
By Mart Oude Nijeweeme
Southampton has every reason to be optimistic about a permanent move from Broja. Not only has the club been bolstered by a recent acquisition of Sport Republic, after five years of moderate investment under previous owner Gao Jisheng, they have also successfully struck with the London superpower before. Last summer Tino Livramento was proudly presented, after the right-wing defender was in the youth academy from 2009 to 2021 the Blues camped out. At Saint Mary’s Stadium, they know the ropes.
Tino Livramento and Armando Broja, both from Chelsea’s youth academy and now playing for Southampton.
It is therefore not surprising that manager Ralph Hasenhüttl is happy to add Broja to his selection. “There is no doubt about that. Moreover, he is having a good time here,” the Austrian recently told the English press. “It would be great if he stayed here to be part of the squad. I think you can feel that feeling. Young players who can’t make it at Chelsea or Manchester City are very welcome here. We will give them the platform give them what they deserve and hope to create new star players.”
Broja, who also has English nationality in addition to Albanian, is said to be interested in a longer stay on the English south coast. The striker is feeling good and has scored 7 goals in 21 games in all competitions since he was taken on loan from Chelsea in the summer. However, the Albanian’s future will largely be determined by Chelsea, as he still has a contract in London until mid-2026. The past should give Southampton hope. Chelsea have shown in recent years the willingness to sell young talents for a profit. Livramento, which was acquired by . last year for a sloppy six million euros the Saintsis living proof of that.
Chelsea raised more than a hundred million euros with the sale of youth players to realize the arrival of Lukaku (116 million). If the Belgian had not come, there is a good chance that Broja would have been part of Thomas Tuchel’s selection. The German manager has already hinted several times that he is charmed by the attack leader. “Armando is getting better,” Tuchel said in early January. “He is a very unique player with unique strengths in his game. He has speed, is robust and a real finisher. It is important that he remains calm and continues to improve himself. Then he has a bright future ahead of him.”
Armando Broja became the youngest player in #PL history to score in each of his first four home starts (20y 123d) and is the first player to do so since Diego Costa for Chelsea in October 2014 ??#SOUBRE pic.twitter.com/nMF9xknntt
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 11, 2022
That opinion is shared by Thomas Bruns. The Adanaspor midfielder played with Broja at Vitesse last season and saw an important role for Thomas Letsch. “He is sometimes a bit lax, thinks it comes to him,” said Bruns. “When he started scoring at Vitesse, he started training less hard. He ended up on the bench and then ran a little faster in training. Then it immediately starts to work for him again.” Bruns describes Letsch as a ‘people person’, someone who has an eye for the person behind the football player and knows when a player is in a bad mood. “There are very few trainers who have that. Broja owes a lot to him.”
Broja had a difficult initial phase at Southampton and was not immediately assured of a starting spot. The Albanian was brought in to make Danny forget Ings and compete with Che Adams and Shane Long. At Chelsea, however, it was not known that Hasenhuttl was working in the background on the transfer of Adam Armstrong, who was eventually taken over from Blackburn Rovers for a sloppy eighteen million euros. A transfer that significantly jeopardized Broja’s chances. Chelsea’s fears became reality. Broja was sentenced to short substitutions and had to show it in the EFL Cup.
Armando Broja has scored 7 goals in 21 games in all competitions since his loan spell from Chelsea in the summer.
Hasenhüttl called for patience. “He has had a difficult start,” the Austrian said at the beginning of September. “I’ve had some serious conversations with him and told him what I want to see. You have to push him a bit, I think.” Broja knows what it’s like to overcome obstacles. He also struggled in his first season with the Chelsea Under-18s before becoming one of the Cobham Academy’s biggest attacking talents. Hasenhüttl’s unconditional support could be just the push Broja needs to realize his lofty ambitions. The Albanian firmly believes that he can eventually become Chelsea’s first striker, as evidenced by his new five-year contract.
Looking at the statistics, Broja provides better figures in many aspects than last season. The striker shoots more often, has more successful dribbles, enters an aerial duel more often and wins more headers in percentage. In particular, his physical strength is much better utilized in the Premier League. This season Broja went on average no less than 13.6 aerial duels per ninety minutes, while that average at Vitesse was 3.7. Hasenhüttl seems to value his height and head strength more than Letsch. There are only four players in the Premier League who have more aerial duels than Broja (146): Chris Wood (Newcastle United/Burnley, 221), Ivan Toney (Brentford, 168), Tomás Soucek (West Ham United, 165) and Ethan Pinnock (Brentford, 155).
Even if Broja is deemed unable to play a significant role at Chelsea next season, the Londoners may opt to include a buy-back clause in the contract. The same happened with Livramento. In addition to a resale percentage, Chelsea also managed to enforce a buy-back clause, which means that the defender can be recalled for 41 million next summer. Such a construction is also being considered in the case of Broja, as it would be attractive for both clubs. For the same reason, Chelsea let Lewis Bate (Leeds United), Myles Peart-Harris (Brentford) and Dynel Simeu (Southampton) go last summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T9M_iw3SPs
Watch the highlights of Armando Broja in the shirt of Southampton and the Albanian national team.
According to Bruns, Broja wouldn’t look out of place at Ajax either. “Ajax often has the ball and plays a lot in small spaces. That’s when he is at his best,” says the former Vitessenaar. Bruns had the opportunity to work with Erik ten Hag at FC Utrecht, but left for Vitesse on a free transfer. “Broja is also a sensitive boy, he also benefits from a people manager as Ten Hag. In that respect, he would be a perfect fit for Ajax. I got to know Ten Hag at FC Twente, where he was head of the youth academy. A very nice person and a very good trainer. I would also have liked to work with him,” said Bruns.
Bruns praises Broja for the combination of speed and technique. “I did not expect thirty million, but I did expect that he would end up at a good club. He sees Mason Mount as his example. He has also done well at Vitesse and is now a basic player at Chelsea.” Broja came to Vitesse to 10 goals in 30 Eredivisie matches. “Not shocking numbers, but beyond those ten goals he has shown what qualities he has. A new striker will have to come if Lukaku eventually makes a next step. I think he could handle that,” says Bruns.
It is expected that there will be no clarity about Broja’s future in the near future. Despite Southampton’s intentions to close a deal as soon as possible, both Chelsea and Broja have postponed negotiations until the summer. That means Southampton will face some serious competition, given the Albanian’s lightning-fast development. Broja won’t be the only striker to be in the spotlight this summer. With, among others, Erling Braut Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Jonathan David, the transfer carousel in terms of attackers is very likely running at full speed. A fact that will probably also have an impact on Chelsea’s choices.