‘He loves it here’: Southampton manager will ask new owners to sign on-loan Chelsea striker permanently

Following his side’s demolition of Brentford at St Mary’s on Tuesday night, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was bombarded with questions surrounding the future of Chelsea loanee Armando Broja.

The Cobham graduate found the net during the Saints’ 4-1 win as his impressive spell under the Austrian continued - scoring five goals in eight Premier League starts, with seven in 19 appearances overall.

20-year-old Broja has become a fan-favourite since signing on a one season loan in the summer, with the Albanian making it easier for Southampton fans to forget the name of ex-talisman Danny Ings, who left for Aston Villa last August.

The south coast club recently announced a takeover backed by Serbian billionaire Dragan Solak, and Hasenhuttl admitted that Broja’s performances may have forced him to ask the new owner to dip into his wallet to make his stay permanent.

When asked if he is prepared to open talks with the owners over this possibility, Hasenhuttl answered: “Sure, he likes it here.

“He loves it here. It would be great if he was our player, he wants to be with us I think, you can feel this in every moment and the fans love him.”

Before departing for Hampshire in the summer, Broja signed a long-term contract extension with the London club until 2026.

The 20-year-old has only featured once for the Blues since he joined the academy setup in 2009 when he came on as an 86th minute substitute in a 4-0 win against Everton in March 2020.

Despite never scoring a professional goal for the club, Broja impressed Thomas Tuchel during pre-season when he netted against Championship side Bournemouth last year.

Chelsea are currently in the middle of  a striking crisis at the club following the recent controversy surrounding wantaway star Romelu Lukaku, whilst Werner continues his struggles to acclimatise to English football.

Should Chelsea let Broja leave the club to join Southampton in the summer? Is he good enough currently to start ahead of Lukaku and Werner?

Let us know at our Chelsea Facebook page.