Chelsea Hijack Manchester City’s Primary Summer Target

Transfer News:

For long now, Manchester City seemed to have sealed the deal to lure Italian midfielder Jorginho to the Etihad Stadium. However, a recent development has brought to light the fact that Chelsea have actually made a late bid for the player, and have arisen as genuine contenders to sign him up.

City, despite having maintained a stronghold over this deal, have made Jorginho their primary midfield target for the summer. Reportedly, they also agreed on personal terms with him and were keen to complete the deal soon.

However, there is a difference between City’s and Napoli’s valuation of the same player. While the EPL champions are ready to pay 35 million pounds for him, Napoli want a fee near the range of 53 million pounds.

According to the same report that has been linked here, it is said that there were wide rumours last week that the two clubs had come to a middle-ground settlement of a fee around 48 million pounds. Napoli even left out Jorginho from their pre-season training camp, and this fuelled further rumours regarding this deal.

However, Chelsea look set to hijack this particular deal and it would be a big boost for the London-based club if they were actually able to do so.

Jorginho: Player Profile

The 26-year-old is essentially a very well disciplined player and an excellent passer of the ball too. He operates from a deeper area as such and relies on his strong reading of the game, and widespread passing range to recover and recycle the possession of the ball.

He always has an eye for a penetrative pass, is quick enough for a midfielder, possesses decent footwork and can find forwards in goal-scoring positions with absurd ease.

His tendency to cut open the opposition’s backline with a single, perfect through-ball means that Jorginho is always a threat whenever he has the possession of the ball. According to Whoscored, he scored twice and assisted four times in 33 Serie A appearances for Napoli last season.

Jorginho delivered 1.5 key passes per game too and recorded an astonishing passing accuracy of 96.9% in the league. He won 1.9 tackles and intercepted the ball on 1.5 occasions throughout the course of the game.

What would this mean for Chelsea?

Cesc Fabregas’ form has regressed over the past couple of years, and Chelsea would surely need a deep-lying midfielder with the eye of a playmaker. Jorginho played his best under the guidance of Maurizio Sarri in Napoli.

Even Sarri is touted to manage Chelsea next season, and this means that the player-manager relationship could bode well in London too. Jorginho is probably the best passer of the ball in European football right now, and his induction into the Chelsea side would be beneficial for a squad that lacks quality talent at the centre of the park.