Jorginho agent doesn’t rule out Juventus, days after 100 per cent Chelsea claim

Just a few days ago, Jorginho’s agent did something very un-agent-like. He declared that his client is “staying at Chelsea 100 per cent”. Oops. Only a Sith deals in absolutes, as Obi-Wan once said.

Fortunately for Mr. João Santos, who’s probably not a Sith Lord, he had a chance yesterday to add back into the situation a few shades of grey. Given the Juventus rumors swirling around Maurizio Sarri (to whom Jorginho may or may not be tethered by an umbilical cord), the agent was once again on the horn, fielding questions about his client having any potential hangups about joining a former rival, the biggest club the land.

This might not surprise you, but he doesn’t. Shocking, I know.

“Juve? I don’t know.”

“Even if Jorginho does have Napoli ties, he can’t say that he won’t play for a certain team because of this. He is a professional so it’s normal that the door remains open for Juve.”

-João Santos; source: Radio Marte via Express

It should be noted that these lines were translated slight differently by the generally less sensational Football Italia, though I think the sentiment is pretty clear either way.

“I don’t know anything about it.”

“Jorginho’s a professional and not a Napoli fan. He likes the city, but he can’t say he doesn’t want to play for a certain team. Only when he stops playing football can he reason as a fan. I think it’s important for Napoli to strengthen so they can be competitive with Juventus.”

-João Santos; source: Radio Marte via Football Italia

Door open vs. wouldn’t not want to play: if there is a distinction, it’s just diplomatic. Part of the reasoning over the weekend was that no team in Italy could afford what Chelsea are paying Jorginho, but Juventus might come close and if Sarri’s there, too, that might tip the scales a bit, too. But that’s all speculation at the moment.

In any case, the agent assures that Jorginho, who isn’t losing any sleep over any of this, is fully focused on Chelsea and the Europa League final after a great first season in England.

“Chelsea are focused on the Europa League Final. For Jorginho it was a rather brilliant season. He played 50 games and finished third in the Premier League, he’s in the Final of the Europa League and plays for the Italian national team.”

-João Santos; source: Radio Marte via Football Italia

He certainly played. A lot. That much we can agree on.