"Not Chelsea standard and never will be", "Completely useless" - Fans slam Blues star's performance in 0-0 draw against Aston Villa
Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Aston Villa in their FA Cup Fourth Round meeting, and the fans were unimpressed by the performances. The Blues were once again without several key players as they tested their might against one of the finest sides in England this season.
Aston Villa are currently in fourth place in the Premier League and had two weeks to prepare for the next against the Blues, who are one of the league's in form sides. Chelsea, on the other hand, had thrashed Middlesbrough only days ago to reach the final of the Carabao Cup, their first since 2022.
Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino made some bold tactical choices for the game against Villa, including starting midfielder Cole Palmer as his side's false nine. The Englishman took the space of Armando Broja in attack, and the Albanian dropped to the bench.
Broja was thrown on in the second half as Chelsea were looking for a goal to send them through to the next round against Unai Emery's men. The 22-year-old endured a disappointing spell at the club this season with just two goals all season, a disappointing tally by this stage of the season.
Chelsea fans on X were unimpressed by the striker and aired their grievances.
"We’ll be good once broja has Green shipped"
"Sell Armando Broja this month he is CRAP"
See more reactions below:
Pochettino introduced Broja off the bench in the 77th minute as a replacement for Raheem Sterling, but the striker was ineffectual. With Nicolas Jackson away at AFCON, Broja had the chance to establish himself as the better striker for the team but failed to do so.
Chelsea considering Armando Broja transfer
While manager Mauricio Pochettino continues to publicly back Armando Broja in his press conferences, the club are looking to sell the striker, as per The Athletic. They have slapped a price tag of around £50 million on the young striker, who is attracting interest from multiple Premier League sides.
West Ham United are long-time admirers of his quality and remain interested in potentially signing him this month. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham are also interested in signing the striker but are not willing to go higher than £35 million for the Albanian.
Chelsea do not intend to necessarily sign a replacement for Broja if they do sell him, as they would likely leave their striker pursuit until the summer. With only days left in the transfer window, Broja might be playing elsewhere by February 1st to get this confidence back.