Southampton are reportedly closing in on the loan signing of Armando Broja from Chelsea, as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side look to replace Danny Ings ahead of the Premier League kick-off this weekend.

What's the word?

Southampton are looking low on quality striking options following Ings' shock move to Aston Villa recently and it seems clear that they must bring in at least one striker to replace the England international ahead of the new season, with the Saints travelling to Goodison Park to take on Everton on Saturday.

It seems as if they are close to their first attacking addition of the transfer window, with Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach sharing the news on Twitter, after it was initially reported by Adam Newson, that Southampton are looking to do more business with the Stamford Bridge outfit this summer.

The Saints have already signed Dynel Simeu and Tino Livramento on permanent deals from Thomas Tuchel's side in recent weeks and it now appears as if they will use their connections there to seal a loan swoop for the 19-year-old Broja.

Would Broja be a good signing?

Although he is only a teenager, Broja demonstrated his pedigree in a loan spell at Vitesse last season, contributing 10 goals and two assists in 30 Eredivisie appearances, averaging a solid 6.78 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

It was suggested last month by Chelsea reporter Kristian Sturt that the Blues had already rejected several loan offers for the Albanian forward and that they could even make him their third-choice striker next season.

However, the imminent arrival of Romelu Lukaku will almost certainly change that, and Southampton could be the team to take advantage with a loan deal.

Whilst the 19-year-old has just one Premier League appearance to his name thus far, his impressive goalscoring records with the academy sides and Vitesse suggest that he could be an excellent option for Hasenhuttl next season.

As he would likely be just a loan signing, there is little risk with this deal, whilst you would hope that the Saints will also be looking to add a permanent signing to fill the void left by Ings, which should take some of the pressure off the £2.7m-rated Broja to be one of the main source's of goals next season.

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Therefore, this could be a shrewd acquisition by the Saints, and fans will no doubt be excited that they are clearly looking to add a striker in time for the new season.

And, in other news... Southampton targeting former Bayern Munich defender