Jorginho's transfer has generated a lot of controversy in the past few days. The 26-year-old midfielder was initially presumed to be heading to Manchester City but chose to play for Chelsea after Napoli accepted the Londoners' late bid to secure his service.
However, the Citizens has reason to believe that the Brazil-born midfielder was" bullied" into signing for the Blues by Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis as a compensation for the departed Sarri. The fee agreed was 50 million pounds with an extra seven million in add-ons. Reports suggest that Jorginho's wage per week for his five-year contract is in the six figures although he does not earn more than N'Golo Kante.
The 26-year-old stood out as one of Serie A's outstanding performers in the 2017/2018 season having been an integral member of the Partenopei set-up that nearly usurped Juventus to the Scudetto. It is as a result not the least surprising thing seeing the two English heavyweights battling over his signature.
But what does he have to offer as he begins a new chapter for Chelsea in the English Premier League? We take a look:
Playing style, strength, and weakness
Versatile and composed are the two key words that can describe the personality of Chelsea's latest acquisition. Apart from these attributes, Jorginho is known for his high work-rate, technique, vision, passing accuracy and great awareness and interceptive skill.
The Italian midfielder is simply the epitome of what a central box-to-box midfielder is. His great football I.Q aids him to dictate the tempo games when he hones the deep-lying playmaking role.
Jorginho's pinpoint passing and distribution abilities are unmatched as he averaged 94.7 passes per game with an 89.7% accuracy - the highest by any player in Europe's top five leagues.
In terms of weaknesses, the former Napoli star mostly falls short when it comes to strength and physicality.
Where will Jorginho fit in at Chelsea?
At Napoli, Jorginho was deployed as the deepest central midfielder in a flat midfield trio consisting of Allan and Hamsik. The former, more or less, executed the role of a "destroyer" whereas the latter was a No. 10 although very deep in this case.
This allowed Jorginho to liaise perfectly with both defense and attack with his one-touch passes and accurate distributions while simultaneously dictating play. With Sarri taking over the reins from Conte at Chelsea, a similar layout could be adopted to get the best out of the Italian stalwart.
For starters, there is already a master "destroyer" in a certain N'Golo Kante. The trident could be completed by Cesc Fabregas or even Eden Hazard who has in recent times excelled as a central attacking midfielder. The days coming up in the Premier League could certainly be exciting for fans of the Blues with Jorginho's arrival.
