19-year-old Chelsea loanee Armando Broja, who is currently plying his trade at Vitesse Arnhem in The Netherlands, is gradually developing into a formidable striker for his tender age.
Chelsea’s relationship with Vitesse is a strong one. The Blues have previously sent out regular starters such as Nemanja Matic & Mason Mount for footballing progress in 2010 and 2017 respectively and did they blossom. In fact, Chelsea have sent an astonishing 28 loan players to the Dutch side.
Johannes Spors, Vitesse’s sporting director spoke on his club’s close relationship with Chelsea. In quotes picked up by The Guardian, he said:
“We have had great cooperation from Petr Cech [Chelsea’s technical and performance adviser], we speak very often, and that gave me the opportunity to speak with Broja.
I had to fight to convince the club and the player. It wasn’t like: ‘Here’s a list of players, take who you want.’ Loans can give us a raise in quality with players we cannot afford to buy.”
Broja was deemed as an excess requirement after making just one appearance with the Blues’ senior team, coming on as a substitute for Olivier Giroud in the 86th minute in a 4-0 victory over Everton. Subsequently, he was pushed onto a loan move for further development in the GelreDome.
Although he’s played just 5 minutes in the Premier League, Broja’s talents were recognized at an early age by Chelsea. He made his mark with Chelsea youth teams from 2009 to 2020 – most notably the Chelsea U-18 side with whom he knocked in 16 goals and 5 assists in 35 appearances. (transfermarkt)
The Albanian international is a versatile attacker who tradionally plays as a support striker and sometimes even operates as an attacking midfielder if deemed necessary. His versatility to drift around the middle and final-third is one of his greatest strengths, along with his finishing skills.
Standing at 6’2, the tall forward prefers to dribble around the 18-yard-box and play short passes with his teammates. He tends to hold out the ball well and exploit open spaces with his acceleration and pace. Thus, making it easy for him to get in scoring areas around the penalty box. He has a strong right foot to find the back of the net than he more often does.
That fact is something that would attract the attention of Chelsea boss Tuchel, who has found it extremely difficult to see his side score goals – a disappointing 10 goals in 9 games.
It remains to be seen how things play out with Erling Haaland’s transfer rumors in the air.
Although his weaknesses such as close-quarter passing and possession play lets him down at times, it’s nonetheless too early to comment on his progress. Broja has only broken through to play senior football in 2020.
And Chelsea might just make him a permanent member of the squad the next season if he progresses at the rate he is currently progressing.
His season-long loan at Vitesse has done him more good than harm, aiding in developing his tender skills and talents which requires regular game time. He has started 13 times (22 apps) so far in the Eredivisie, scoring nine and assisting twice. (fbref.com)
Star in the making.@armandobroja9 🌟 pic.twitter.com/RjzmW2I0XZ
— Talk Chelsea (@talkchelsea) March 1, 2021
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With his current form, Broja has the potential to become one for Chelsea’s future upfront.
