Armando Broja joins Southampton on loan from Chelsea

Southampton have completed a season-long loan deal for Chelsea striker Armando Broja. The 19-year-old forward arrives from Stamford Bridge to join Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. Broja follows in the footsteps of his former Chelsea teammate Tino Livramento in moving to St Mary’s this summer. The attacker represents another of the brightest emerging talents from the European champions’ academy.

Already capped six times at senior level by Albania, Broja spent last season on loan at Vitesse. He netted 11 goals in 34 appearances, making the attacker one of the top-scoring teenagers across Europe’s leading divisions. Broja helped the Dutch side to a fourth-place finish in the Eredivisie as well as the final of the KNVB Cup.

“I was really excited to join Southampton”

“I feel very happy. Was really excited to join Southampton. It’s obviously a very good Premier League club,” said the footballer.

“They’ve got a good history and they play in the best league in the world, so it’s amazing for a young player to experience it, be in and around a Premier League team, and learn and develop from the older players, the staff and everyone here. It’s a very good opportunity,” added Broja.

The attacker signed a new five-year contract at Chelsea this summer. He has also impressed during pre-season while featuring for Thomas Tuchel’s first-team, scoring on a number of occasions.

“Armando is a very talented player”

“Armando is a very talented player who we were impressed by last season. He is young, but he comes now with a full season of experience in senior football with a good team, and he brings a lot of qualities that can help us,” said manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

“He is a strong, quick player with a good instinct and this makes him a good fit for the way we like to play. I know how highly regarded he is by Chelsea, and I think this will be a good place for him to continue his own development as well,” he added.

Broja who stands at 6ft 3in termed Cristiano Ronaldo and the original Ronaldo as his favourite players.

“I’m a tall striker, but I’m also quite quick. I like to dribble, I like to hold up the ball and play with a lot of other players – link-up play. Like scoring a lot of goals, so those are my main attributes, I would say. I have two main ones (role models): Cristiano Ronaldo and the original Ronaldo, the Brazilian one. They were my two favourite players. Ronaldo was a striker – the Brazilian one – and he was amazing. I look up to him and I’ve watched a lot of his clips on YouTube, because I was quite young when he was playing! I like parts of his game and I try to use some of his game to help me. Ronaldo (Cristiano), I love his mentality, I love his work rate and I love how he performs on the pitch, so those are my two favourite players.”

Broja is Saints’ third summer arrival from Chelsea, following in the footsteps of former teammates Dynel Simeu and Tino Livramento.