Southampton's Ralph Hasenhuttl on Armando Broja's 'Boy Group'

Broja has been hitting all of the right notes during his loan spell at St Mary’s, but The Boy Group unfortunately does not mean he’s the lead vocalist in a rogue five-piece.

Little boy wonder Tino Livramento is not much of a keyboard player and Nathan Tella and Will Smallbone are not wearing guitars over their shoulder – although Dynel Simeu may well now be banging the Saints drum from Carlisle.

But they are the five pieces of a Staplewood ensemble that Hasenhuttl refers affectionately to as The Boy Group.

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl (Pic: PA)

They are Saints’ young first-team starlets, and you’ll always find them training together, eating lunch together and finding their feet in the Premier League together.

Graph by Jack Tanner

Each no doubt destined for a solo career of their own, as Simeu will be looking to kickstart on loan in League Two, but those still here will hope to bring their stadium tour to Premier League nights for the rest of the campaign at least.

“It was never as easy for him (elsewhere) like here, because he had his best mate Tino from the first moment with him,” Hasenhuttl explained, speaking about Broja.

“He was with Nathan Tella, Will Smallbone and all the young lads, even Dynel Simeu who is also a player from Chelsea.

Dynel Simeu will now play the rest of the season on loan at Carlisle United (Pic: PA)

“Here we have a few young lads that are always training with us and who are always hanging together. We call them ‘The Boy Group’.”

Tella himself concurred with Hasenhuttl’s thoughts, saying: “He's (Broja) a very good friend. He’s one of my closest friends at the club at the moment.”

Hasenhuttl continued: “It’s fantastic for him to be with them now. I think this is the reason why he loves it so much here.

“When you get a feeling as a player that what you’ve got told to do helps you develop your game, then you do it and like to do it.

“The reward are goals and good performances. But it’s also important he knows there is no time to lean back and say ‘I’ve now made a few goals’.

Armando Broja has five Premier League goals this campaign (Pic: Stuart Martin)

“In some games it will not be so easy to score goals and I think the next few games will be those games where it’s not always so easy to finish one against one.

“There you have to show up and prove you are also able to perform against the best centre-backs in the world. This is what he has to do.”

It was the electric sounds coming out of the Netherlands that alerted the world to Broja’s talent and potential.

The 20-year-old Albanian international hit 10 goals in 30 Eredivisie matches while on loan at Chelsea feeder side Vitesse Arnhem.

Armando Broja is a Chelsea academy product (Pic: PA)

Asked what he saw during that spell, Hasenhuttl responded: “His speed up front is definitely a weapon. A good finish. One against one finishing he is OK, definitely.

“Because of his size, normally a guy who can save (protect) the ball although he should get better in this part of his game.

“In and around the box, I think he can be still more of a threat with headers and everything.

“But he showed in this session (loan) that he can score with a header also because he has the height.

“A good package, not too heavy for covering distance because in our shape that’s very important - I don’t need a striker who is two metres tall and cannot move.

“He looked fitting to us and was the kind of player we didn’t have so that’s why we went for him.”