Chelsea: What has happened to Jorginho and what’s next?

The relationship between Jorginho and Chelsea is a puzzling one, but it’s being forced to the forefront with Billy Gilmour and N’Golo Kante’s injuries.

During Frank Lampard’s first press conference as Chelsea manager he was asked a seemingly simply question about N’Golo Kante and where the second-year manager would play him. Lampard, who has proven to be an adept speaker in press conferences, smiled and replied confidently.

The reason this was such an important question to ask the new Chelsea manager was because throughout the previous season Jorginho—Chelsea’s £50 million signing from Napoli—had been played exclusively at the base of Chelsea’s midfield, which many pundits and fans alike believed to be Kante’s most effective position.

The situation grew increasingly toxic as many fans, perhaps unfairly, accused Maurizio Sarri of favouritism as he stubbornly refused to play anyone else in this deep midfield role. The reasoning behind the decision was simple, Sarri did not believe Kante had the ability to play on the half-turn and produce the range of passes which was a necessity for the deepest midfielder in his system. However, many fans believed the Italian midfielder’s underwhelming physical attributes in comparison with Kante’s freakish ability to cover ground and recover possession left the team more vulnerable with him than without him.

Therefore, this decision would have been one of the first debacles Lampard would have had to sort upon his arrival at the club. The decision Lampard made was clear; Jorginho would remain in the same role. Kante struggled with injuries at the start of the season, but even upon his return to full fitness, Chelsea would regularly line up just as it did under Sarri the year before. Jorginho would be the deepest midfielder whilst Kante’s job was to try and win the ball back higher up the pitch. Only three outfield players have made more appearances than Jorginho for Chelsea this season, and Lampard underlined how important he believed the Italian was to the team by making him Chelsea’s vice-captain.

However, since football returned post-lockdown Jorginho has only started a single match, as he had fallen behind Billy Gilmour in the pecking order. The decision left many scratching their heads as Jorginho has seemingly done little wrong. So why has this happened?

Lampard stated that the period of lockdown gave him plenty of time to think about his squad, and it seems that upon reflection he has changed his mind about how he wants Chelsea—and Kante—to play. Since football has returned Kante, when fit, has started every game as the deepest of the Chelsea midfielders. But, rather than asking Kante to play that role as Sarri would have asked, Lampard has changed the entire nature of Chelsea’s midfield.

This new and improved version of Lampard-ball employs Kante as the deepest midfielder, and it is his job to try and mop up behind two attack minded box-to-box midfielders—often times, Ross Barkley and Mason Mount. The issue for Jorginho is that he simply doesn’t have the legs for this role. He covers a lot of ground every match (on average in the 2018/19 season he ran 10.98km a match which is actually higher than Kante’s average of 10.94km), but Lampard has specifically referenced Kante’s ability to make high-intensity runs as being a crucial part of his role and Jorginho simply can’t compete in this regard.

This sudden requirement is in Lampard’s new system and the two box-to-box midfielders have been pushed much further up the pitch in order to make it easier for Chelsea to break down stubborn, deep defences. A classic example of how Lampard would want this system to work was Olivier Giroud’s opening goal against Watford. Mason Mount picked up the ball in an attacking position and played a line breaking ball in behind Watford’s midfield for Ross Barkley, who was pushed right up alongside Giroud. Barkley turned and found the French striker, who fired home.

The goal only occurred because Chelsea had two attack-minded midfielders on the pitch at once. This means there are more players capable of playing incisive attacking passes on the pitch, so Chelsea’s attackers can be more varied and effective. This is the blueprint employed so effectively by Manchester City teams over the past three years, but they have had Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva in the Mount and Barkley roles.

The new system, though, means Chelsea has less defensive capability on the pitch. Whilst the holding midfielder before lockdown would usually be accompanied by Mateo Kovacic, a man who is adept at winning the ball back himself, now the deepest midfielder must face the defensive duties almost on his own. Not only this, but the defensive midfielder has more space to cover than previously, too.

The holding midfielder in this new system doesn’t merely sweep up in front of the back four, he is expected to push up the pitch just behind the two attack minded midfielders in order to win the ball back high up the pitch and sustain attacks. This means the player must be capable of covering a huge amount of the pitch—fast.

Kante is the best player in the world at this role, so it is unsurprising that he is first choice. But, unfortunately for Jorginho, this is just not a role that suits him. He excels at creating attacks more than preventing them. His lack of pace and ability to spot the danger so effectively means he cannot be first choice anymore.

What is clear is that, prior to his injury, Lampard believed that Gilmour was also more capable than Jorginho in this role. However, it would be foolish to have a 19-year-old as first choice back up to an increasingly injury prone Kante. What would make more sense is that Lampard sees Chelsea’s best player this season, Kovacic, as another player who can play this role.

Kovacic is highly mobile, reads the game well and was often deployed in a similar role for Real Madrid. He is a sensational player, but doesn’t have the required skill set to play as either of the attacking midfielders in this system. However, if Lampard is planning to play him at the base of the midfield, this would be a decision that makes sense.

So, what does this mean for Jorginho? With a fully fit midfield he would suddenly be fourth in the pecking order, and he is far too good a footballer for this. He proved against Crystal Palace that he can still be a valuable asset to any team, but crucially in this game Chelsea was on the back foot, so Jorginho wasn’t having to cover the large spaces that will open when Chelsea is on top in matches.

It is not too late for Jorginho, with the amount of midfield injuries Chelsea has at the moment, he could yet prove his worth. But, the likelihood is that as Chelsea moves away from the Sarri-ball era, a player with his skillset will no longer be required at the Bridge.

What seems logical is an amiable break up. Chelsea will get upwards of £50 million for a player of his quality, whatever club he goes to. Sarri’s Juventus springs to mind as the Italian giants look to get a quality midfielder.