Transfer News: Southampton set to make club-record bid for Chelsea loanee Armando Broja
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Southampton are massively interested in signing Chelsea loanee Armando Broja on a permanent deal and are considering making a club-record offer for him.
Armando Broja has excelled at his job after moving to Southampton. He has already bagged seven goals and one assist in 21 appearances across all competitions in this campaign, making him one of the most lethal young strikers in the league.
The Chelsea youth star also spent a season on loan at Vitesse, but he didn’t have the influence he is currently having in the Premier League. Making waves in arguably one of the toughest leagues in Europe, the Albanian certainly has a bright future ahead of him.
Even though Southampton are currently enjoying the services of the young striker, Broja would only be able to stay at the club until summer due to loan contract obligations. But the Saints don’t want to give away an essential player of their squad without a fight.
What next for Broja?
Ralph Hasenhüttl has repeatedly emphasised that the forward enjoys playing for his team and that they would try to make his move permanent. And it seems Southampton are eyeing to go the distance to secure the Albanian’s signature. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Saints are planning to make a club-record bid of £25m.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel recently revealed that he doesn’t have any plans to call back Broja before the end of the season and suggested playing with the Saints would help him grow professionally. But the apparent bid the Saints are lining up is too good not to consider.
Chelsea’s current forward line has been quite disappointing in this campaign compared to the attacking contingent of other top teams. Headline summer signing Romelu Lukaku is yet to recreate his form at Inter Milan with the Blues, whereas Timo Werner’s form in front of goal remains largely inconsistent.
If the situation continues, some changes upfront may well be beneficial for us in the near future. It won’t be surprising if the Blues field Broja for the senior time in a few seasons’ time, if not the very next campaign.
But given that Chelsea agreed over a fee of €40million with AS Roma for Tammy Abraham, £25million for a 20-year-old striker with just 4 minutes of action for Chelsea’s senior team isn’t really a bad deal.
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It remains to be seen what our board decides in this matter. The funds could be used towards signing players we need in other positions, but there would undoubtedly be initial anxiety of ‘what if Chelsea let go of the next big thing in England?’. Thankfully, our board is more than capable of taking a firm stance in such situations, but for them to come into action, the Saints would have to submit an offer first.