Arsenal to sign Chelsea Midfielder Jorginho

Arsenal to sign Chelsea Midfielder Jorginho

Arsenal have signed Chelsea midfielder Jorginho for a reported initial fee of £10 million plus £2 million in add-ons. The 31 year-old has signed an 18-month contract lasting until June 2024, with the option to extend for a further year until June 2025.

Arsenal needed depth in midfield after losing Mohammed Elneny to injury and letting Albert Sambi Lokonga go on loan to Crystal Palace. Arsenal does not have anyone in their squad capable of fulfilling Thomas Partey’s role if he goes down. In Jorginho Arsenal get a capable backup. He is a Premier League winner who is capable of playing to a high level at the base of a possession-based system such as what Arsenal play.

Arsenal had initially sought out Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and had several bids in the region of £60m and £70m rejected in the past week, despite the player himself asking to leave.

David Ornstein reported that Jorginho’s transfer would not interfere with Arsenal’s plans to buy younger in the position over the summer.

There are reports that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was particularly keen on signing Jorginho.

Arteta told Arsenal’s club website:

“Jorginho is a midfield player with intelligence, deep leadership skills and a huge amount of Premier League and international experience, said Arteta.

“Jorginho has won in his career, but he still has the hunger and huge willingness to contribute here. We are so pleased to sign Jorginho and welcome him and his family to the club.”

Via Arsenal.com

The Italian midfielder only had six months left on his contract with Chelsea. If they hadn’t sold him this window they would’ve risked losing him for nothing.

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There are also reports that Chelsea are close to signing Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez, and Jorginho would’ve been pushed further down the pecking order. However, it’s not clear if Chelsea sees them in the same mold, and it has been suggested that Fernandez might be more of a box-to-box player.

Jorginho’s expertise in possession-based systems and reading of the game should provide Arsenal with a very capable alternative to Thomas Partey as they push for their first Premier League title in 19 years.