Chelsea might be looking upon their mini-injury crisis with less concern had they not reversed their verdict on Armando Broja.
According to The Athletic, Thomas Tuchel initially intended to bring Broja on board for the season.
Tuchel ‘earmarked’ the Albanian as the replacement for Tammy Abraham, once he found a new footballing home.
Bright start for Broja
Broja gave the Blues boss good reason to follow through with this decision by performing well in the first weeks of pre-season.
However, after scoring in friendly fixtures against Peterborough United and Bournemouth, the 20-year-old failed to make another appearance for Chelsea.
Getting first team regulars like Timo Werner and Kai Havertz back up to speed after the European Championships took precedence.
Abraham had yet to depart his boyhood club – he would eventually join Roma – so stayed part of the squad.
Michy Batshuayi also remained, meaning the centre-forward slots filled up pretty quickly following the international interlude.
Romelu Lukaku’s arrival was the final nail in the coffin for Broja, even despite Abraham and Batshuayi – who signed for Besiktas on loan – parting ways with Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea withdrew their original call on the young striker and opted to send him on loan to Southampton instead
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