Burnley have signed Albanian forward, Armando Broja from Chelsea for an undisclosed transfer fee.
Broja’s move ends a difficult 16-year-spell at Chelsea where injuries limited his involvement in the last three seasons, during which he was loaned out to Fulham and Everton in the last two campaigns respectively.
Although the exact fee will remain undisclosed between Burnley and Chelsea, Broja has signed a five-year contract at Turf Moor until June 2030 and is “really excited” to join the newly promoted club in an interview with the club website.
“It’s a really positive time to be joining this club ahead of the start of the new Premier League season. I can’t wait to get going!”
“I’m feeling good, I’m ready and I’m excited about the challenge of playing for this club.
“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.”
Broja began his career at Burnham Juniors then spent two years at Tottenham between 2007-09 before he moved to Chelsea, where he graduated through their academy and achieved a domestic treble in 2018 of Under-18s Premier League, Under-18 Premier League Cup and FA Youth Cup.
He also helped the Blues’ under-23s win the 2019-20 Premier League 2 title although the season was curtailed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, yet he managed to make his senior debut as a substitute in a 4-0 victory at home against Everton prior to a three-month lockdown.
Broja spent 2020-21 & 21-22 seasons on loan at Eredivisie’s Vitesse Arnhern and Premier League’s Southampton respectively, during which he scored 20 goals in 72 combined appearances across both loan stints.
The Albanian forward subsequently returned to Chelsea and became a first-team regular until he suffered a season-ending knee injury during a mid-season friendly against Aston Villa.
He returned in the first half of 2023-24 season with two goals in 19 appearances before he spent the second half of that campaign at Fulham, which proved unsuccessful with no goals in eight appearances.
Last season saw Broja join Everton but Achilles and ankle injuries limited him to just 11 appearances in the Toffees’ final season at Goodison Park.
Broja represents Albania at international level and has scored five goals in 27 senior caps since his debut in a 1-0 loss at home to Lithuania in September 2020.