I did wonder at the time, what the exact rules are behind ‘tapping up’ a player when I was first reading the comments from Ralph Hassenhuttl on Chelsea striker Armando Broja last week.
Because to me, what he was saying was hugely disrespectful to Chelsea, to Thomas Tuchel, and to Chelsea fans, and even, to Broja himself. Because surely all this noise and drama created from the comments, all the headlines being written, and everything else that goes along with this type of thing, it is going to unsettle a young player like this?
Not on that but put undue pressure on him when he plays and surely have a detrimental effect?
This week, Hasenhuttl is now telling us we should just ‘let him play football’ and he is there for the season regarding Broja. Well, Ralph, you should probably practice what you preach, mate, because YOU were the one why first started unfairly talking about all this in the middle of the season, no?
Broja is a Chelsea player, that is the bottom line. Chelsea have him under a contract until 2026 and he is ON LOAN at Southampton with no option to buy. So stop talking like he is desperate to join the club, putting it out there publicly that his family want him to join the club, and as you say, ‘let him play football,’ is that not the wiser and more respectful thing to do?
Chelsea should be telling him and Southampton where to go after this and never deal with the club again. The ball is in Chelsea’s court, we hold the power, and they need to be silent in the whole situation.