In Focus: Broja can challenge Jackson to be Blues' No9

Chelsea may have spent lavishly in the summer transfer window but there is still one area of their team that has not been fully addressed.

With Romelu Lukaku loaned to Roma and new attacker Christopher Nkunku injured, the Blues have been left short of strikers.

Nicolas Jackson, young and inexperienced, has been trusted as Mauricio Pochettino's No9 in the early weeks of the season — but he is still a raw talent.

That could mean a chance is in the offing for Armando Broja, who briefly established himself as Chelsea’s first-choice frontman under Graham Potter last season.

Ahead of today's trip to Bournemouth, we take a look at where the Albania international might fit in once he returns from injury.

Opportunity

Broja is expected to be back in the Chelsea squad very soon after returning to full training during the international break.

The towering forward will hope to make an immediate impression upon his return and give Pochettino a decision to make.

As was the case last season, Chelsea have struggled for goals so far in 2023-24, with Jackson scoring just once from his four Premier League starts.

The Senegalese striker missed a gilt-edged chance in the Blues' 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out — and the general consensus is that he may not be ready to lead the line.

Promising

Whether Broja could be the man to take on that responsibility remains to be seen.

He made 12 league appearances last season — although they amounted to just 287 minutes — and scored one goal.

Some of his underlying numbers were promising, though. He ranked eighth in the division for shots on target per 90 minutes (1.57) and sixth for completed take-ons per 90 (2.51).

Even more encouragingly, his post-shot xG per 90 of 0.9 was only bettered by Erling Haaland (0.94).

High intensity

Any judgement of Broja's performances in a Chelsea shirt comes from a small sample size.

But he played more regularly while on loan at Southampton in the 2021-22 campaign, scoring six goals in 32 Premier League appearances.

Notably, Broja ranked fourth in the league for possessions won in the attacking third per 90 (1.37) that season — evidence of his ability to successfully press and dispossess defenders.

In Pochettino's high-intensity system, that could be a key attribute.

Belief

Pochettino hinted in the summer that 22-year-old Broja could become Chelsea's main man in attack.

Amid questions over a potential new striker signing, he said: "We are keeping eyes on Armando Broja because I think we cannot forget him.

"We cannot stop him by bringing in a profile of player that could stop his evolution.

"We really believe in him — he can be a really important striker for Chelsea. We need to be careful."

The Argentine boss will hope to have an extra weapon in his armoury soon as he seeks to get the Blues' season back on track.