Pochettino says Broja has amazing potential but it's hard to emulate Drogba

Mauricio Pochettino has backed Armando Broja to show his potential like Harry Kane did, though admitted it is not easy as a young Chelsea striker following in the footsteps of Didier Drogba and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

And he also challenged Broja to prove he can cope at the top by blocking out the noise surrounding him and the possibility of Chelsea bringing in a new striker.

Broja has scored just twice in 18 appearances this season since recovering from a serious knee injury.

He was unfortunate not to add to that tally in Tuesday's Carabao Cup win against Middlesbrough but also looked low on confidence having been urged by Pochettino earlier in the season to be more positive with his body language.

Pochettino has also talked up Broja's potential on occasions but Chelsea are now open to parting with him before this transfer window closes next week.

A reshuffle of their striking options is being weighed up with a move for Aston Villa's John Duran having been considered while tentative discussions about Newcastle's Callum Wilson have also taken place.

Pochettino said: 'All the biggest 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.

'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.

'He's a player that suffered a big injury last season, he needs to put that big idea behind him, always that is difficult. And we are at Chelsea, he is trying to deliver while compared with the biggest strikers like Drogba, Hasselbaink or another.