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Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that Armando Broja can make the most of his opportunities while on loan at Fulham. The Albania international has joined the Blues' London neighbors Fulham in a six-month loan deal.
As claimed by Goal, Marco Silva's side have signed Broja on a simple six-month loan for a fee which will rise to £4m depending on performance-related add-ons. The 22-year-old was the subject of interest from a host of clubs during the winter transfer window but Fulham have won the race to land the Chelsea outcast.
Ahead of the Blues' Premier League encounter against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday (February 4), Mauricio Pochettino addressed the press regarding Broja's loan exit. The Argentine manager claimed that he hopes that Broja can feature more prominently for Fulham during his loan spell at the Craven Cottage.
The Chelsea manager was quoted as saying by Football.London:
"I think it's a really good thing for him to have the opportunity to maybe play more. It's a good move for him. I hope he can take the opportunity to play more."
Chelsea were reportedly ready to cash in on Broja permanently in January but failed to find a suitor. They initially demanded £50 million for the young striker's services but eventually lowered their demands to £35 million but could not find an offer.
Wolverhampton Wanderers also wanted Broja on a loan deal but their approach was turned down by the Blues. However, the 22-year-old has now joined Fulham in a six-month loan deal where he will compete with Raul Jimenez and Carlos Vinicius for a place in the starting XI.
The youngster has played just 694 minutes across competitions for Mauricio Pochettino's side this season scoring twice and providing two assists. The striker previously caught the eye while on loan at Vitesse and Southampton.
Pundit slams Chelsea defender for his dismal display against Liverpool
Former England attacker Gabriel Agbonlahor has slammed Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile following a dismal showing against Liverpool. The Blues were absolutely demolished 4-1 by Jurgen Klopp's side with Badiashile struggling at the back.
Following the game, former England forward Gabriel Agbonlahor slammed the entire Blues backline highlighting Badiashile in particular. He claimed that Badiashile's performance against Liverpool was probably the worst by any centre-back in the last two Premier League seasons.
He said on The Sports Breakfast, as quoted by Goal:
“Chelsea look like they don’t care if they lose. That’s what I got from last night, they were that bad. They didn’t look like they cared about losing. Darwin Nunez hit the bar, the post, the woodwork five times – it could have been like 8-1 or 8-2. Badiashile, the centre half, he gave probably the worst centre-half performance I’ve seen in the Premier League in the last two seasons."
Agbonlahor added:
"He was dreadful, Chilwell wasn’t great and then you’ve got Mudryk coming on – he hasn’t learned anything. He’s running into people, kicking it out of play and doesn’t look like he’s got any football intelligence. Thiago Silva was poor. You spend a billion pounds on players and you’ve got a 39-year-old – nearly 40-year-old – playing centre-back."
Badiashile has struggled to impress at Chelsea following his reported £32.7 million move from AS Monaco in January 2023. The Frenchman has made just 21 appearances for the Blues so far and has been quite shaky defensively.
