New Chelsea boss Graham Potter has reportedly been impressed by Armando Broja in training, with the youngster set to be given the chance to start at centre-forward in the coming weeks.
The 21-year-old has made six appearances for the Blues during the 2022-23 campaign, four of which have been in the Premier League, but he has only played 70 minutes of league football this term.
Broja is yet to start for Chelsea this season, but he did play the final 24 minutes of Potter's first game in charge of the club, which was a 1-1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League last week.
According to The Sun, the Albania international has made a huge impression on the club's new head coach during a number of training sessions.
The report claims that the striker is now close to earning a starting spot in the team despite the recent arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona.
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Potter allegedly wants to implement a pressing system from the front and believes that Broja is the ideal forward to operate in his team.
The Albanian was strongly linked with a move away from Chelsea over the summer, but the transfer window closed with him remaining at Stamford Bridge.
Broja has been with Chelsea since 2009, making his professional debut in March 2020, but he spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan with Vitesse, scoring 11 times for the Dutch club.
The youngster then represented Southampton on loan last term, finding the back of the net on nine occasions in 38 appearances during a successful spell with the Saints.
Broja is yet to score in seven first-team appearances for the Blues, but he is expected to be given opportunities to impress during a busy October for the London club.
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Chelsea will play nine times in October, including Premier League games against Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Brentford, Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Meanwhile, the Blues will also take on AC Milan twice and Salzburg in the Champions League, with the group stage of the competition needing to be finished by early November.
The season will break in November for the 2022 World Cup, and Chelsea also have two Premier League matches to make up, having seen their latest two games called off following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Kai Havertz has largely played as a centre-forward in the early stages of this season, but the 23-year-old has only scored once in the Premier League during a disappointing start.
Matt Law
