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Southampton have completed the signing of Chelsea prospect Armando Broja on a season-long loan.
Broja, a striker who has represented Albania’s senior team on six occasions, signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea earlier this summer and has impressed in pre-season for the Blues first team.
The 19-year-old is highly-rated at Chelsea and will get the chance to gain minutes in Premier League football with Southampton.
Broja was loaned out last season as well. The Albanian forward netted 11 goals in 34 appearances at Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands in 2020-21, and those performances caught the eye of Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
“Armando is a very talented player who we were impressed by last season,” said Southampton boss Hasenhuttl in the official club press release.
“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.
“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.”
Broja himself is excited at the prospect of getting regular Premier League football with Saints.
“Southampton have a good history and they play in the best league in the world,” he said.
“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.”
This is the third signing Southampton has made this summer that has plucked talent from Chelsea’s youth teams.
Southampton-raised Dynel Simeu joined in July for a nominal fee, before highly-touted prospect Tino Livramento signed on a permanent deal last week.
Those were both signings with the Saints defence in mind. Broja is a welcome addition to Southampton’s attack after it was announced last week that Danny Ings had left for Premier League rivals Aston Villa.