Jorginho needs to remain Chelsea’s designated penalty taker

Chelsea fans have debated who should be the team’s penalty taker for the last three seasons. Two years ago, supporters were pleading for Frank Lampard to hand duties to a number of players, including Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic. Last year, Thomas Tuchel came under fire from Twitter pundits for not allowing the likes of Timo Werner take spot kicks and boost his confidence. Those discussions have unfortunately resurfaced again after Jorginho missed a penalty against Switzerland on Friday.

Social media has been filled with Blues “faithful” calling for the vice-captain to be stripped of his penalty duties. Jorginho has now missed three consecutive penalties on international duty with Italy, two of which came against Swiss keeper Yann Sommer. Romelu Lukaku’s name is being brought up as a potential club replacement. Reece James and Werner have also been named. Nevertheless, this discussion is not even one worth having. Fans seemingly jump at every chance they get to spark a dialogue about replacing the reigning UEFA Men’s Player of the Year. Jorginho is Chelsea’s designated penalty taker, he’s earned the right to remain in his role.

Jorginho is Chelsea’s designated penalty taker, period, end of discussion

Jorginho has taken 38 spot kicks throughout his career in senior football (excluding shootouts) and made 32 of them. Specifically for Chelsea, he’s lined up to take 21 penalties and scored on 18 occasions in the Premier League, Champions League and two Super Cups. The Brazilian-born Italian international led the Blues in goals scored during last season’s Premier League campaign with seven from the spot.

There’s no doubt Jorginho is a polarizing figure amongst football fans, his method is undeniably effective though. His carefully calculated style of penalties will inevitably lead to misses every once in awhile. Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore his 86 percent success rate for the club, especially having taken as many penalties as the vice-captain has during his time. The 29-year-old has ice in his veins and he’s recently displayed that he has more than a hop and a skip in his arsenal. Jorginho is more than capable of firing the ball into the back of the net with pace and power. This won’t always be his go-to method of scoring, but it keeps goalkeepers on their toes from time to time. The multiple tricks in Jorginho’s back pocket make him one of the best high-volume penalty takers in world football.

One of the main reasons supporters give for wanting to replace Jorginho on penalty duties is boosting strikers’ confidence. It goes without saying Lukaku won’t have trouble finding the back of the net, this argument is mainly made for Werner. Lost in the situation often times is the main motivation behind penalties though. The first goal—no pun intended—of a penalty kick is to score. Tuchel surely doesn’t have confidence boosts on his mind. The presence of Lukaku and Werner in the team simply give Chelsea a safety blanket. Tuchel has two experienced penalty takers in his side if Jorginho isn’t on the pitch. Lukaku (30 scored, five missed) and Werner (16 scored, four missed) are excellent from the spot. Nevertheless, there is no reason, aside from fan agendas, to have them take penalties as long as Jorginho is playing.

Reece James is perhaps the most odd shout in this discussion. The budding superstar wingback has been excellent from the spot this season during shootouts. He’s scored the match-winner for the Blues in two consecutive Carabao Cup contests, both of which were superb strikes. However, he’s extremely inexperienced as it relates to taking penalties. James has taken just one non-shootout penalty kick in his senior career and it came back in 2019 for Wigan Athletic.

The fact of the matter is Jorginho is effective from the spot—too effective to be replaced. Chelsea has a plethora of options in the team but the best of the bunch is already in the right role. The occasional discussions about replacing Jorginho as the Blues’ designated penalty taker need to be put to rest once and for all. He’s a leader in the Chelsea side and a few misses with Italy won’t change a thing. Is he going to miss more for his club in the future? There’s a high probability. Is he also going to score more than he misses in that same time frame? Most likely. Case closed.