The biggest threat to Chelsea this season? It's not Man City. It's not Liverpool. In fact, it's not any of the club's Premier League rivals, not in the eyes of Jorginho, at least. The Italian has been at Stamford Bridge long enough to know better.
"Chelsea's biggest opponent is Chelsea," explained the 30-year-old in an interview with Sky Italia. "If we don't fight, if we don't do better last year, if we don't improve, if we are not humble to recognise where we went wrong and do better, what are we talking about?"
The 2022/23 campaign will be Jorginho's fifth as a Chelsea player; the previous four have certainly been eventful. There have been trophies, criticism, three different head coaches, and constant speculation over his future, although the midfielder's agent has largely fueled that.
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Yet Jorginho, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is settled in London and happy at Stamford Bridge – and his ambition and motivation to win a Premier League title remains. That will be far from easy given the strength of Man City and Liverpool coupled with the summer of transition Chelsea are in.
"I am very motivated for another season in this shirt, which is a dream for every child in Brazil, as it was for me," Jorginho said. "Every year, I repeat the same thing, to reach such an important goal [the Premier League title], you must think about today. We have many things to improve since last year.
"Signings have arrived, some have gone away, and we will miss them. We have the return of Ben Chilwell. There is a lot of motivation to work. The goal is clear for me, is to look to the first game against Everton and win it."
It was in the summer of 2018 that Jorginho opted to swap Napoli for Chelsea. Four years on, one of the midfielder's close friends opted to do the same. A long-term target for the Blues, Kalidou Koulibaly, arrived at Stamford Bridge last month in a deal worth around £34million.
The defender is expected to immediately slot in on the left of Thomas Tuchel's back three – and his performances in pre-season matches against Arsenal and Udinese were hugely encouraging. And Jorginho believes the Senegal international will have a big impact at Chelsea, both on and off the pitch.
"We are hoping for another four seasons," laughed the Italian. "I think it is a very positive signing for the club because he is not only a strong player who will help us a lot on the pitch, but I think he will help us a lot in the dressing room considering the person he is. He is an exceptional guy, and during the negotiations, I called him, urging him to come. And I am very happy that it happened."
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