Armando Broja: Ralph Hasenhuttl confirms desire to keep Chelsea loan star

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed that he hopes to keep Chelsea loanee Armando Broja at the club for at least another year.

The 20-year-old striker has been a hit at St Mary's, sitting third on Southampton's scoring charts with a return of six goals in 29 Premier League appearances - 19 of which have come as a starter.

Hasenhuttl claimed in January that talks were already underway to extend Broja's loan at the club but Chelsea have since been slapped with transfer restrictions following Roman Abramovich's sanctioning by the UK government, forbidding them to discuss any player sales.

“At this moment it is not easy to negotiate with Chelsea," Hasenhuttl admitted. "There is no question, and it is not surprising that I want him to stay here another year.

“I know this would be good for him.”

Hasenhuttl went on to stress that he wants to keep supporting Broja and has no concerns about his current dry spell in front of goal. The Albania international hasn't scored in the league since February and has gone ten games without finding the back of the net for Southampton.


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“The interesting thing is that young players are not allowed to have, two three or four bad games because it is not understandable," the Saints boss continued.

“But it is understandable. After the first big impact he made in the league everybody knows him now and everybody is taking care of him.

“It is much harder. I know this as a striker. If nobody knows you and does not know your strengths, then it is easier to compete. It is completely normal that there comes a moment when you have a little bit of a setback.

“The important thing is that he starts working hard again and fighting to be dangerous up front.”

Broja signed a new contract with Chelsea before heading out on loan, committing himself to the Stamford Bridge outfit until 2026, and Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is understood to be a big fan of the academy graduate.


Source : 90min