Arsenal have confirmed the permanent signing of Chelsea midfielder Jorginho after striking an agreement for £12million.
The Italian midfielder has put pen to paper on an 18-month contract at the Emirates after finding himself on the periphery of the Chelsea squad in recent months.
The transfer sees Mikel Arteta’s search for a central midfielder come to an end after their pursuit of Brighton star Moises Caicedo came to unsuccessful conclusion this week.
The club confirmed that Jorginho has agreed an 18-month deal with the Premier League leaders after both clubs agreed on a £12million fee.
Negotiations over the Champions League winner moved quickly after the two clubs began discussing a potential transfer on the eve of transfer Deadline Day.
Arsenal were eager to sign Caicedo, but saw their £70million bid rejected – having previously tabled an offer of £60million on Friday and then £65m plus a further £5m in add-ons on Sunday.
Still keen to sign a midfielder in January, they turned their attention to Jorginho – who had been linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge anyway.
The 31-year-old’s contract at the club was set to expire this summer and the potential arrival of Enzo Fernandez would have pushed him further out the picture.
Jorginho arrived at Stamford Bridge from Napoli in 2018, signing a deal worth £50m. He went on feature 213 times for club, score 29 goals and register nine assists.
However, the 31-year-old has struggled for form recently – with the Blues currently sitting 10th in the Premier League table.
During his time with Chelsea, he won a Champions League, a Europa League, a Super Cup and a Club World Cup.
He also won the 2020 Euros with Italy before being named as UEFA Men’s Player of the Year a few months later.
It’s understood that Chelsea’s record-breaking move for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez played a role in Jorginho’s west London exit.
The Blues are close to completing a deal for the Argentina international and sent a private jet to Lisbon in order to finalise the transfer on Deadline Day.
As well, with Graham Potter’s side boasting a plethora of midfield talent, they felt adequately staffed in that area to allow the Italian to join their close rivals.
It had been suggested that either Jorginho or N’Golo Kante would leave – with both of their contracts expiring in summer – but it’s now reported that the Frenchman is close to signing a new deal at Stamford Bridge.
