Chelsea loan striker Armando Broja outlines his priorities after his latest performance in Southampton's battling 1-1 draw with Man City amid constant Saints transfer talk.
Broja, 20, was one of the main contenders for man of the match for Ralph Hasenhuttl's men who had to battle hard to a well earned and deserved second draw of the season against Pep Guardiola's side, having held them to a 0-0 draw at the Etihad earlier on in the season.
The Albanian nearly had a first half goal given, but unfortunately drifted just offside. However, he still showed the composure that Chelsea fans crave in a No.9 with his cool finish past Ederson in the 23rd minute.
A trait that has evaded club record signing Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner for large parts of this season amongst other Blues attackers, who have disappointed Thomas Tuchel on many occasions.
Therefore, it's a surprise to see the European champions comprehend a potential sale of a player who has been labelled by the fanbase as the next coming of Diego Costa, with football.london understanding that if a deal was to go through in the summer, a buy back clause would be a certainty.
However, football.london also understands that Tuchel wants to see how the 20-year-old fares in pre-season training, in case a recurrence of Tino Livramento's exit was to unfold.
Tuchel said in early January on the current predicament: "Armando's getting better and better, he's a very unique player with unique strengths in his game, he has speed, he's robust and he's a goalscorer.
"First of all, now is not the moment to discuss the summer, it's the moment for him to stay calm and keep on improving."
It's still up in the air where the striker will be come the start of the 2022/23 campaign, but one thing that is for certain is the striker's willingness to follow Tuchel's advice by trying to constantly improve his game - to a standard where pundits like Graeme Souness continue labelling him as 'one to watch for the future.'
"I thought I was a little bit unlucky with some of them, the offside goal obviously," Broja reflected on his disallowed goal to Sky Sports.
"I was looking at the line when I made my run so I thought I was just onside but I think it was a few yards or something, quite small margins.
"I just tried getting myself in good opportunities. In games like this, I feel like this is where I learn to put them to bed. Learning experience for me as well."
He then went on to outline his happiness at playing week in, week out: "Obviously, like I said before, it’s an amazing club, amazing players, people, so I’m around good people and I’m enjoying my football.
"I’m happy with the opportunities that I’m getting and trying to help the team out."
His current manager Hasenhuttl was happy to see Broja continue his 'strong' development with another solid display against a team he tipped as the Premier League champions in waiting.
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"He is super strong one versus one," Hasenhuttl stated. "Only he is the threat because of his speed, he is helping our game massively. We can sometimes defend a little bit deeper and have a good counter-attack.
"This is hard to defend and we have stepped forward in our development definitely."
