Chelsea told to save £80m as they already have Lukaku replacement at the club

Former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson has told the Blues to save spending £80m on a replacement for Romelu Lukaku as Armando Broja can do the job.

Lukaku joined Chelsea last summer in a deal worth £97.5m from Inter Milan after he scored 64 goals in 95 matches in all competitions during his time at the San Siro.

But the Belgium international had a disappointing campaign at Stamford Bridge, eventually falling down the pecking order under Thomas Tuchel after a promising start to the season.

Unemployed XI: Europe’s best newly unattached players without a club from July 1

And Chelsea have allowed him to return to Inter Milan on loan until the end of the season with the Serie A side paying a fee and covering all his £300,000-a-week wages.

The Blues have been linked with a number of expensive targets to replace Lukaku, but Johnson reckons Chelsea youngster Broja could fill the hole left by the Belgian.

Broja scored nine goals in 38 appearances in all competitions while on loan at Southampton last term with the Albanian international showing off his potential.

“I think Chelsea are going to be reluctant to spend scary money again considering what happened with the Romelu Lukaku signing,” Johnson told GGRecon. “If it was up to me, then I’d give Armando Broja a chance rather than spending £80m on a replacement.

“I’d rather get it wrong with a player that I’ve already got, rather than get it wrong by spending £80m. Broja is technically good in front of goal but I don’t know how good he is yet.

“He did score some fantastic goals for Southampton but, let’s face it, Southampton aren’t Chelsea. He’s going to get more goal scoring opportunities at Chelsea and he’s technically good enough to score more next season.”

Broja, who spent a season on loan at Dutch side Vitesse in the 2020/21 season, has been linked with numerous clubs this summer with West Ham reportedly keen.

And former Manchester City defender Micah Richards was impressed by Broja’s performance against Manchester United in February.

Richards said: “Broja, I know we’ve mentioned him before, but he’s bullying not only Maguire but he’s bullying Varane as well, which I couldn’t quite understand for someone so young.”