Armando Broja caught Luis Enrique's eye in as Spain waltzed past Albania 2-1. The former Barcelona boss admitted that he's been keeping tabs on the 20-year-old striker, impressed from what he's seen thus far.
Enrique, who had the pleasure of coaching Luis Suarez at the heights of his success, labelled showered Broja with praise, claiming that he'd cause even the 'best central defenders in the world' a problem. The 51-year-old's seal of approval should hand Thomas Tuchel the final ultimatum that he needed before plotting the striker's route into the Chelsea first-team.
Broja has enjoyed a tremendous rise to superstardom and has become a spearheaded figure for club and country, directly contributing towards five goals in last five caps for Albania. Talking in his post-match press conference, Enrqiue said: "Broja is very strong. If you look at him at Southampton he causes problems for the best central defenders in the world."
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The £57.8m-rated striker, who has been likened to Didier Drogba, has impressed during his loan spell with Southampton, scoring nine goals across all competitions. Broja's imposing displays have rallied calls for him to be included in Chelsea's first-team squad for 2022/23. Though a place in Tuchel's starting-eleven next season would be deemed obvious by many, it appears that a decision regarding his future is yet to be made, with various transfer rumours crediting Arsenal and West Ham with interest.
Broja, who earned his stripes at Cobham during the Ivorian striker's reign, has also attracted public attention from Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl. The striker has grown into an integral contributor towards Southampton's success this campaign, guiding them to within a point of the top ten.
Hasenhuttl warned the Cobham graduate that the grass isn't always greener amid, what is so far, a successful loan spell that has attracted attention from a host of Premier League sides, according to various reports.
“He knows how important it is for him as a player to play continuously,” the Saints boss said. “Here, he gets that chance and has shown he fits us and our shape. “There are a lot of examples where players after changing clubs do not perform as they have done with us.
“We have a good relationship with Chelsea and are in good contact. He is their player. We have tried to develop him here, and I think we have."
