Three big questions: Chelsea and the awkwardness of Jorginho

Chelsea’s Jorginho may not be at the club next season, but if he is what questions need to be asked about his awkward place in the squad?

When Maurizio Sarri quit Chelsea, there were rightfully questions asked about Jorginho’s role going forward. After all, Jorginho had never really been the player he is known to be without Sarri as his manager. Initially, he actually seemed to improve under Frank Lampard’s allowance of freedom but that did not last throughout the entire season. Following his multiple competition suspensions pre Covid, Lampard seemingly moved on from the midfielder. What questions need to be asked of Jorginho ahead of the new season?

1. Is he a square peg in a round hole or not?

The word “regista” has very much entered the Chelsea lexicon over the last two seasons. To some it is the role of a playmaker who sets the tone for the team on and off the ball. For others, it is 1000 sideways and backwards passes back to the initial passer with no change to the game. Regardless, it is hard to deny that Jorginho’s role, whatever it is exactly, was only really discovered by Sarri. And without Sarri, what that role means is an open ended question.

As already stated, Jorginho did seem to improve in the first few months of the season under Lampard. Some of this could be settling into the Premier League, but the player himself mentions his “freedom” increasing under the English manager. But there are two problems with that. The first is the holding midfielder can only be so free to prevent the defense from being left wide open. The second is that Mateo Kovacic basically does everything Jorginho does but better and in a way that helps the team more.

Furthermore, Chelsea’s post Covid tactics were a telling sign of how Lampard wants his team to play. He used N’Golo Kante as the deepest man in midfield before the Frenchman became injured and Jorginho looked very much out of Lampard’s plans until he had no other choice but to bring him back in. Jorginho is a relic of Sarri’s tenure and he feels like a square peg in a round hole for Lampard’s tactics. Whether one or the other adjusts to make it work better next season remains to be seen.