Burnley told they 'should have got rid' of £20m flop

Burnley fan pundit Aaron has delivered a damning verdict on Armando Broja's time at Turf Moor after the striker slipped down the pecking order.

Armando Broja's move to Burnley has not worked out as hoped, with the striker struggling to secure regular Championship minutes a year after his arrival.

The Clarets signed Broja in August 2025 ahead of their Premier League return in a deal worth £20 million.

However, the Albanian international managed just one league goal during Burnley's relegation campaign and has slipped further down the pecking order since their return to the second tier.

Zeki Adouni has started the recent league matches and has scored against both Wrexham and Derby, while the arrival of veteran forward Jamie Vardy gave Nicky Hayen another option as he looks to rescue the club after a dismal start to the season.

Broja is fighting for opportunities that don't look likely to come any time soon, and one Clarets supporter believes the transfer already ranks among the club's poorest pieces of business.

Damning Armando Broja transfer verdict given after dismal Burnley run

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Broja's frustration became particularly apparent following Burnley's 2-1 defeat to Bristol City earlier this month, when the striker was filmed in a heated exchange with supporters outside Turf Moor.

Heading into the international break, Football League World asked Fan Pundit Aaron Wright whether the £20m agreement is considered amongst the club's worst value-for-money signings, and whether the striker should have been moved on over the summer.

"Yeah, it's one of the club's worst buys. He and Mike Tresor are probably the top two," said Wright, with Tresor also massively struggling for form following his permanent move to the club in 2024.

"Broja should have gone, but obviously you've got the matter of who's going to take him. He's such a risk. His injury record isn't the best, and his confidence is just low.

"There are times when you see a glimmer of the Cobham training. He can get past defenders, and he can find some space, but then either his pass is wrong, or he takes the wrong option in front of goal," said Wright.

After a promising spell with Southampton, Broja failed to deliver at parent club Chelsea, and injuries didn't help.

And after poor loan spells with Fulham and Everton resulted in not a single goal, Burnley made the rather strange decision to sign him for such a large fee ahead of their Premier League return.

"His confidence is just so low. He almost needs to go somewhere where there's no pressure at all, but where that is, it kind of doesn't exist.

"So yeah, it goes down as one of the worst buys. We should have got rid, but I'm not sure we could have," concluded Wright.

During the 2025/26 Premier League season, the striker made 24 appearances, but accumulated fewer than 1000 minutes - scoring once and laying on one assist as the Clarets failed to deliver in the top flight.

This season, he has racked up just 216 minutes across the Championship and EFL Cup, starting just once as Burnley lost away at West Brom.

The unfortunate fact is that his confidence is shot, and his record last season didn't exactly give prospective buyers much hope over the summer.

Broja has now failed at four clubs in the Premier League and hasn't been given the chance to impress in the Championship either, making it even harder to move him on in January or next summer.

The horrendous lack of ambition last summer resulted in Burnley's relegation to the Championship after just a year back in the Premier League, with the Clarets once again failing to capitalise on a strong promotion campaign.

Promoted rivals Leeds and Sunderland invested well in experience, with players joining both clubs carrying serious knowledge of the English and continental game.

Burnley's summer window paled in comparison at the time, and the performances on the pitch were naturally worlds apart as a result.

Broja was part of that summer, with such a huge fee spent on someone yet to prove himself in the Premier League outside of nine goals scored four seasons earlier - hardly the figures expected to propel a side to safety.

A year later, the Clarets are struggling in the Championship, while the two sides that went up with them are thriving in the top flight. Of course, survival last term was always the main goal, but never really coming close to that target has held Burnley back this season, and the club needs a serious rethink behind the scenes in the coming months.

Of course, Broja is not the reason that Burnley are in the Championship, but deals of that ilk last summer failed to have any real impact whatsoever, starting what has been a rough downward spiral since promotion.