Chelsea loan army: Keep, loan or sell? Armando Broja (Part 29)

In Part 28 of this series, I broke down Michy Batshuayi’s career at Chelsea and discussed what his future in football looks like. For those who haven’t read the introductory piece to this series, a different player will be the subject of a new article every day. I began with goalkeepers and am currently in the process of working my way up the pitch, with each position group being sorted in order by the way in which they appear on the club’s website.

As I move on with the loan army series, I continue the deep dive into the loan army forwards with Armando Broja. Broja is one of the most promising young prospects in the Blues’ loan army. The only thing that makes his development sweeter is the fact that Chelsea was able to poach him from Tottenham many years ago. When he makes it big, we’ll all be thankful he’s doing it in blue as opposed to the awful white of north London. Before discussing how good he will be, let’s first understand how he got to this point.

More from Chelsea FC Loan Watch

• Chelsea: The €30m January signing who will highly excel with Pochettino’s appointment
• Chelsea loan Army: How Ian Maatsen has got on at Burnley
• What’s next for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher as asking price revealed?
• The next man up for Chelsea: Left back Ian Maatsen
• The next man up for Chelsea: Center forward Mason Burstow

What does Armando Broja’s Chelsea career look like?

Born in Berkshire to Albanian parents (the importance of this will come into play later on), Broja’s youth career began at Burnham Juniors. He played with the club until 2007 before moving to the Tottenham Hotspur academy. Broja spent two years in north London before moving to Spurs’ west London rivals following the 2009 season. Chelsea has employed the youngster since he was 8 years old, he joined after his U9 season at Tottenham.

Broja quickly rose through the youth ranks at Chelsea and became known as one of the Blues’ most prolific goalscoring forwards. He broke into the upper academy squads during the 2018/19 campaign where he shared the striker spot with George Nunn. It didn’t take long for international sides to take notice either. Despite being born in England, Broja was eligible to represent Albania at the international level. He was named to the Albanian U21s in 2019, going on to make his senior country debut in 2020.

The No. 9 signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in late February of 2020. Broja was handed his Premier League debut under Frank Lampard in a 4-0 win against Everton. He only played a handful of minutes during the match—replacing Olivier Giroud in the 86’—but he impressed during his brief time on the pitch. Unfortunately, Broja’s debut was overshadowed by the Man of the Match performance put in by another Blues youngster, Billy Gilmour. Broja finished the 2019/20 campaign with 23 goals in 30+ matches across all levels in a Chelsea shirt.

This impressive goalscoring record in the youth ranks earned him a move familiar to all Blues: Vitesse. Broja signed on with the Dutch giants for the duration of the current campaign back in August. Despite missing a few matches with COVID-19, he has made a full recovery and enjoyed a successful loan thus far. Broja has played in 30 games, scoring 10 goals and adding on three assists. He’s set himself up nicely for a return to Chelsea in a matter of weeks.

This begs the question: what does Chelsea do with Broja this summer?

Verdict: Loan

The 19-year-old has taken the world by storm at Vitesse. Broja has jumped up the charts to become one of the Blues’ most promising young prospects. Nevertheless, he isn’t ready for the grind of the Premier League just yet. A loan to the Championship or perhaps even a low-level Premier League side would suit him well. Broja’s decision is an easy one, although he isn’t too far away from a move into the first team.

Remember to check back with The Pride of London each and every day as I dive into the largely uncharted world of Chelsea’s famous loan army. Part 30’s subject is forward Izzy Brown.