Saints seal Broja loan deal

The 19-year-old forward arrives from Stamford Bridge to join Ralph Hasenhüttl’s squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Broja follows in the footsteps of his former Chelsea teammate Tino Livramento in moving to St Mary’s this summer, representing another of the brightest emerging talents from the European champions’ academy.

Already capped six times at senior level by Albania, Broja spent last season on loan at Vitesse, netting 11 goals in 34 appearances, making him one of the top-scoring teenagers across Europe’s leading divisions, as he helped the Dutch side to a fourth-place finish in the Eredivisie as well as the final of the KNVB Cup.

That followed a 2019/20 campaign in which the Slough-born youngster scored 20 times at academy level, while also making his first-team debut in a 4-0 home win over Everton in March 2020.

Broja signed a new five-year contract at Chelsea this summer and has also impressed during pre-season while featuring for Thomas Tuchel’s first-team, scoring on a number of occasions.

Ralph Hasenhüttl said: “Armando is a very talented player who we were impressed by last season.

“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.”

Armando Broja said: “I feel very happy. I was really excited to join Southampton. It’s obviously a very good Premier League club.

“They’ve got a good history and they play in the best league in the world, 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.”