Chelsea must remain patient with next Diego Costa as Premier League reality becomes clear

The comparison came early. Far too early perhaps. Yet it was understandable. The body movements felt so familiar. The unerring accuracy of the finishes too. Then came the matching of a Premier League record: Armando Broja, the first player to score in their opening four top-flight home starts since Chelsea's own Diego Costa.

That was back in December with the Albanian international at the peak of his confidence. At that point, nothing appeared capable of stopping the striker. Not the weight of expectation at loan club Southampton. Not the growing excitement of Chelsea supporters. Not even opposition defenders.

It's why Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl spoke publicly about his desire to keep Broja at St Mary's. Tentative talks were even held between the two sides in the January transfer winter window, although nothing came from them. The plan remained that the 20-year-old would see out the campaign, continue to score goals, and then a decision would be made over his future.

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Unfortunately, the goals haven't continued to flow. Broja has scored just once since the beginning of March. His last Premier League strike, meanwhile, was at the start of February against Tottenham. It's resulted in the Albania international taking a step back; he's not started for Southampton in their past two matches.

“The interesting thing is that young players are not allowed to have, two three or four bad games because it is not understandable," Hasenhuttl said last week. “But it is understandable. After the big impact he made in the league, everybody knows him and everybody is taking care of him. It is much harder. I know this as a striker. If nobody