Newcastle United have submitted a £33 million bid for Armando Broja as they look to beat Premier League rivals Southampton to the Chelsea wonderkid, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
With one week remaining in the January transfer window, Newcastle appear to be stuck between planning for the future and securing their short-term aims.
The club’s new Saudi Arabian owners are understood to be taking a leaf out of the RB Leipzig model, building their blueprint around exciting, up-and-coming talent with their best years ahead of them.
But the signings of Kieran Trippier (31) and Chris Wood (30) prove that, in the here and now, Premier League survival trumps all else. In other words, the wonderkids can wait.
Broja, however, is one of those players who falls into both categories, sitting right in the centre of the Venn diagram.
One for the future, yes, but a player capable of making a massive impact in the present day too.
Will Newcastle beat Southampton to Chelsea’s Armando Broja?
One of the breakthrough stars of the 2021/22 Premier League season, Broja has scored seven goals on loan at Southampton. But while the numbers are impressive, Borja certainly passes the eye test too.
Despite only turning 20 in September, the Albania international already looks like the complete, modern-day centre-forward.
He has searing pace, he can carry the ball rapidly over long distances, turning defence into attack in the blink of an eye. And, above all, he is a ruthless, emphatic finisher.
His brilliantly-taken goal in Southampton’s recent 4-1 thrashing of Brentford was Broja to a tee.
Racing in behind a high Bees backline, the Chelsea loanee finished with the ice-cool composure of a seasoned number nine.
Whisper it but Broja’s parent club could do with a striker like him.
How much will Chelsea accept?
According to TMW and Fabrizio Romano, Southampton will offer £25 million to turn sign Broja on a permanent deal.
But Newcastle’s own offer – in the region of £33 million – could blow the Saints out the water.
“Armando Broja is obviously a handful,” former Southampton ace Peter Crouch told The Mail after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
“A brutish striker who can make defenders think.”
Hasenhuttl has made no secret of his desire to keep Broja at St Mary’s. Chelsea will care little about that however.
Make no mistake, the reigning European champions will sell Broja to the highest bidder. And, worryingly for Southampton, they are going head-to-head with the ‘richest football club in the world’.
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