MAN-UP BRO
Poch tells Blues star Broja to deal with transfer rumours, compares him to Kane – and says he has potential to be an ‘amazing striker’
MAURICIO POCHETTINO has compared under-fire Chelsea striker Armando Broja to a young Harry Kane.
But the Blues boss warned the 22-year-old to man up and ignore any rumours suggesting that his days at Stamford Bridge are numbered.
Chelsea have slapped a £50million price tag on Broja’s head – and are in the market for a new striker.
But speaking ahead of tonight’s FA Cup clash with Aston Villa, boss Pochettino said: “It is part of the business, part of football.
“When you perform well and score goals you are up here, if you’re not scoring you are down there.
“You are always going to be judged but there are too many rumours in football. Some are good rumours, some are not so good. Sometimes you are disappointed, sometimes not, but you have to live with these rumours.
“If you are a top player, you need to manage this. But I have to say his potential is massive.
“All the big strikers always need time.
When they are young, they need to find their own balance. But I still believe that he has the potential to be an amazing striker.”
Pochettino managed
Bayern Munich goal machine Kane (right) just as he was breaking into the Tottenham first team after a series of loans.
He said: “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.
“Broja’s a player who suffered a big injury last season. He needs to put that behind him.
“We are at Chelsea so he is trying to deliver while being compared with strikers like
Didier Drogba and
Jimmy Floyd
Hasselbaink. That’s always difficult for a young guy.”
Broja has scored only twice since returning from a cruciate injury in September but is expected to start against Villa tonight.
His first league game back was the crushing 1-0 defeat by Unai Emery’s side, which Pochettino claims wrecked the progress he was making as Chelsea boss. The Blues lost after having Malo Gusto sent off and now face a Villa team 12 points ahead of them in the Premier League table.
Pochettino said: “The way we lost the game had a big impact because even with 10 men we were pressing high, we created two big chances, and then we conceded.”
Ollie Watkins scored in the 73rd minute to give Villa all three points
“That was a massive blow to our confidence,” Poch added. “If we had scored and won the game with 10 men against a team like Aston Villa, it would have been a big boost for us, a massive boost in confidence.
“The defeat had an impact on our growth. And we are Chelsea, so there is always pressure after a defeat.”