Jorginho has been a divisive figure during his time in west London, at least as far as the fans are concerned. Every manager to work with the Italian has adored him though. This began with Maurizio Sarri making the midfielder the centerpiece of his tactics and continued with Frank Lampard naming him Chelsea’s vice captain. Thomas Tuchel obviously views him as an important piece in his formational foundation, as well. The German manager has given Jorginho a crucial role in the midfield pivot, more often than not being paired with Mateo Kovacic.
Regardless of how well he performs or the current manager’s output on him though, Blues supporters are incredibly critical of the 29-year-old. Many believed he would once again follow Sarri—his biggest admirer—to Juventus following the 2018/19 campaign. However, Jorginho didn’t immediately return to Italy, instead electing to remain at Stamford Bridge. Despite Sarri being sacked by the team in Turin in 2020, Jorginho is once again the target of Bianconeri transfer speculation.
While it may have seemed the regista was on the move in windows past, it’s hard to imagine him departing Chelsea in the summer. First and foremost, the financials don’t make much sense. Juventus’ reported top target is Manuel Locatelli of Sassuolo. The Neroverdi aren’t entertaining offers of anything less than £30 million, so Jorginho is seen as a back-up plan. It’s an interesting strategy seeing as the Blues’ midfield maestro is valued at around £40 million currently.
In addition to the monetary confusion, there is uncertainty as to who the Old Lady‘s manager will be at the beginning of the transfer window. Andrea Pirlo’s hire was eerily similar to that of Lampard at Chelsea. Both Juventus and the Blues parted ways with Sarri—although many will state Sarri simply left west London—and hired the inexperienced managers to replace him. The main difference being Lampard had a year of top level management under his belt; Pirlo had a week of managing the U23s.
Will Jorginho make the move back to Italy?
Pirlo is undoubtedly a footballing legend and someone loved around the Allianz Stadium, but the results haven’t been there. Juventus is currently at risk of dropping out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 and sits third in the Serie A table. If Inter Milan holds on to win the league and Porto knocks out the Italian giants in the UCL, Pirlo might not even see the season out. Clubs like Juventus are ruthless in the way it hires and fires managers—much like Paris Saint-Germain.
How does all of this relate to Jorginho though? If Pirlo is the one pulling the strings and endorsing a move for the Chelsea midfielder, his opinion may not hold any weight by the summer. The main reason Jorginho has been liked with the Turin club in the first place is the connections to managers, mainly Sarri during his one-year with the team. Juventus may not see the need to splash on another midfielder either. This makes even more sense when reviewing its purchase of Weston McKennie just a few days ago.
Lastly, Tuchel may still see Jorginho as a crucial piece in his plans for next season. It won’t please a portion of the fanbase, but it’s true. The vice captain has played a vital role in the midfield pivot under the new manager. Therefore, it’s hard to imagine the Blues parting ways with the 29-year-old in a few months’ time. Jorginho will one day return to Italy—that much we know. The likelihood of that transfer happening this summer though is slim to none, unless Sarri takes over at a major Italian club who suddenly stumbles into a war chest to spend this summer.
What do you think Chelsea should do with Jorginho this summer? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!