Jorginho only wants Chelsea as agent denies Barcelona meeting

Jorginho’s contract is in its final year, and in a couple months, he will be free to start talking to other clubs about a free transfer next summer. (Barcelona are already lining up at the door like shoppers on Black Friday.)

But the Vice-captain seems to have eyes only for Chelsea at the moment, and continues to prioritize a contract extension with the Blues.

That’s the latest claim from his ever-talkative agent, along with a denial of the rumored meetings with Barcelona last month.

“It is not true that I’ve met [Barcelona director] Mateu Alemany. Our priority is to extend with Chelsea; that’s the only club I’ve talked to in the last few weeks, Jorginho’s future is at Chelsea.”

-João Santos; source: Relevo via Football-Italia

Jorginho has been a key presence in midfield ever since his arrival in 2018, recently notching his 200th appearance for the club — the 97th player in our history to reach that milestone.

That said, his future doesn’t seem quite as assured as his agent seems to be proclaiming. There are a lot of moving pieces at the club right now, especially in the recruiting and squad planning departments, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what might or might not happen. Do we try to keep him around on a short-term deal? Do we double down on a (possibly overdue) midfield refresh? The latter might be more in line with our supposed long-term ideals, but it’s still early days with the new ownership and we don’t yet really know what their ultimate motivations and goals may be.