Armando Broja is a 23 year old Albanian striker, that has had a stop-start time to his career so far. With the young forward yet to find himself settle in at a club after numerous loan spells in the Eredivisie and Premier League. Loans coupled with injuries have hampered the growth of the striker but now finding a new home in Burnley the hope is there that he can grow into the promise that people had for him when he was breaking through at his boyhood club, Chelsea.
Career so far
To date Broja has had four loan spells with one being in the Eredivisie and three being in the Premier League.
The young Albanian started his career in Tottenham Hotspur's academy joining their under 8's set up. Where he spent two years before transferring to Chelsea in 2009 which is where he has remained until 2025.
During his time in Chelsea's academy he had a lot of success in the under 18 set up as he helped the team win the domestic treble, U18 Premier League, U18 Premier League Cup and Youth FA Cup.
He then went on to win the Premier League 2, in 2019-20, with the under 23 team, in which he scored three times in ten appearances.
In February of 2020 he earned himself his first professional contract at Chelsea. He then went on to make his first team debut in March as he was substituted in the 86th minute replacing Olivier Giroud during a 4-0 win against Everton.
That four minute cameo ended up being the only appearance Broja made that season. Which led to a season on loan at Dutch side Vitesse.
During his year at the Dutch club he netted ten goals in 30 appearances as he went on to finish as Vitesse's joint top goal-scorer.
After a successful spell in Netherlands it earned Broja a new long term contract at Chelsea as he signed a new five year deal with the Blues. He was then loaned to, fellow Premier League side, Southampton in the summer transfer window of 2021.
He made history in a 1-0 win over Leeds United, when he scored his first Southampton goal which made him the first Albanian to score in the Premier League.
Broja went on to score six goals in 32 appearances which helped the Saints achieve survival as they finished in 15th position.
After a successful spell at Southampton, Broja managed to earn a spot in the Chelsea squad for the 2022/23 Premier League season. Scoring his first goal for the club against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 3-0 win.
Shortly after he suffered a major knee injury, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season, in a friendly against Aston Villa during the international break whilst the FIFA World Cup was taking place.
This hampered his growth and momentum in the Chelsea team and earned him another loan spell at a fellow Premier League club. This time in the form of a fellow team from London, in Fulham.
He earned this move in the winter transfer window of the 2023/24 season after scoring only two goals in 19 appearances for Chelsea. Broja went on to make eight appearances for Fulham, however he did not manage to score any goals during his short spell at the club.
Following this unsuccessful loan spell, Chelsea sent him on loan once again but this time to Everton for the 2024/25 season with the option for this move to become permanent.
However, after suffering numerous long term injuries that saw him miss a total of 29 games across all competitions for club and country, and not managing to score in any of the ten games he featured in. Everton decided against making the loan signing a permanent deal.
What Broja can bring to the Burnley team?
Broja can bring many different qualities to the Burnley side that they currently don't possess with their current striker options.
One of the main qualities he brings to the side is his ball carrying as throughout his career he's averaged above 2 progressive carries per 90 minutes. Most recently averaging 3.24 carries per 90 minutes at Everton. Showing he's able to receive the ball in deeper positions and drive the team forward into a more advanced area.
Broja has averaged around two shots per 90 over his career. Highlighting the instincts to get shots off as a striker are there and the possibility to sharpen his finishing will go a long way to helping Burnley in their bid for survival.
He is also a good self creator as he averages around 1.9 shot creating actions per 90 minutes over his career. Highlighting he has many strings to his bow that he can attack from.
However, all of these are still relatively raw due to his limited game time, due to injuries, but with a new permanent home in Burnley the hope is there for Armando Broja to perfect his craft and fulfil the potential that was once seen in him.
Broja's thoughts on signing for Burnley
In an interview with Clarets+, Broja said "I am really excited to be here as a Burnley player."
Adding on to that he mentioned "I can already feel the support from the Burnley fans - I can tell you all that I will be giving my all every time I pull on the famous Claret shirt." This will be music to Burnley fans' ears as all they ever want from anyone that plays for the club is to give one hundred per cent every time they step on to the football pitch.
Becoming the club's third signing this week ahead of the friendly against Lazio on Saturday. He has the chance to instantly show what he can provide to the Burnley team along with the fellow two signings made this week Lesley Ugochukwu and Martin Dubravka.
