Mauricio Pochettino has made a sensational comparison between Armando Broja from Chelsea and Harry Kane, highlighting the immense potential of the sought-after striker.
Broja, who is currently being monitored by Fulham, Wolves, and West Ham, is still up for grabs as Chelsea is open to offers. The 22-year-old forward has faced difficulties finding his form at Stamford Bridge, managing to score only two goals since his return from a knee injury.
In defense of Broja, Pochettino compared his situation to Kane’s early days at Tottenham and advised the young striker not to let transfer rumors affect his performance.
“The potential is massive,” Pochettino said. “All the biggest strikers need time. When they are young, they need to find their own balance. But I believe that he has the potential to be an amazing striker.
“I always compare it to Harry Kane. He went on loan to Leyton Orient, Norwich and spent time finding his real balance. In our first six months, he started to perform only in December and January and that’s when we started to see his real potential.”
There has been a lot of talk about Victor Osimhen from Napoli possibly joining Chelsea in the summer. This has put more pressure on Broja to perform well. However, Pochettino thinks this is just a normal part of the sport and advises the young striker to concentrate on his current responsibilities instead of getting bothered by the rumors.
“It is part of the business, part of football,” Chelsea’s head coach said. “In the end, you can’t escape. If we want all the benefits of being in this club, Chelsea, we need to accept that it is a massive responsibility and this type of thing can happen. You are always going to be judged. It is normal. It is our job.
“If you want to be in this business and take the responsibility to play you need to accept that this is the business. If you’re a coach, staff, or player and don’t have the capacity to deal or cope with the pressure it is difficult to be at the top. You can play football but maybe not at this level.”
The potential sale of Broja could be a problem for Chelsea because it might leave Pochettino with fewer options for forwards. The coach is already dealing with challenges as Nicolas Jackson is participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, Christopher Nkunku is recovering from a hip injury, and a potential target, Jhon Duran from Aston Villa, is also unable to play due to a hamstring injury.
Nevertheless, Chelsea is slowly improving under Pochettino and has not lost any of their last nine home games. They will be hosting Villa on Friday in the FA Cup.
