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Before the pandemic break, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho was seemingly “undroppable” from manager Frank Lampard’s starting lineups. That took a major turn once football returned to the Premier League fields in June, with Jorginho getting chances to shine again mostly due to injuries that continue to plague Cobham.
An underutilised player is often a prime candidate for departure, and that might have been the case for Jorginho back then. His agent João Santos confirmed rumours that the player was offered a way out by Italian club Juventus, at the time still guided by former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, who offered to swap the Italian-Brazilian player with one Miralem Pjanic.
“Juventus had offered a swap deal including Miralem Pjanic, but the English side didn’t take it into consideration. [Juve sporting director Fabio] Paratici never called me.”
Sarri however was unceremoniously dropped by the Old Lady when they failed to move past Olympique Lyon in the Champions League’s round of 16, despite winning them a Serie A title. And so, the chances of Jorginho joining the club vanished.
“Would he have moved to Juventus with Sarri? I think so.”
When it comes to the near future, João does not discard any options. He is ready to help Jorginho with staying at Chelsea for as long as possible, or to find him a new home in case the Blues deem him unfit to our plans moving forward.
“He has a three-year deal with Chelsea. The market is long, it will last until October 5. If Chelsea were to think that he is no longer part of the project, I would find an alternative solution. Last year he played 40 games for Chelsea and is an important member of the national team.
“So far we haven’t received any official offers. He is followed by many clubs and there aren’t many players with his characteristics in that role.”
-João Santos; Source: Tuttomercatoweb via Goal.com
The question is whether Jorginho’s characteristics will fit whatever Lampard has in mind with shiny new signings such as Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and (possibly) Kai Havertz ready to play high-octane football. If he fits the mould, than there is nothing he and his agent need to worry about.