According to the Daily Mail, Juventus have finally made the leap and made contact with Jorginho's representatives. It's uncertain as to whether the Italian would want to leave Chelsea this season but his agent has made it clear that he wishes for a "dream" return back to Italy.
With Antonio Rudiger confirmed as a goner for the Blues, Jorginho could come as a massive blow if Chelsea does end up selling once their ownership is settled. It's funny how things change. If you had asked me if Jorginho should leave this summer, a few months prior to the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich, I would have said yes.
Now I'm not so sure. What Chelsea should do and what they need to do are on two completely different ends of the spectrum.
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Thomas Tuchel's squad is beginning to thin out. Luckily he still has options to play around with that could be getting a recall this summer. With this in mind, the question as to what Chelsea should do with Jorginho becomes rather complex.
What SHOULD Chelsea do?
Is a two-year contract extension a feasible option? Thomas Tuchel has made it very clear that he would like to close the gap between Chelsea and Man City and Liverpool. We're currently still far off of the two big boys at the top of the table, despite competing with them closely for the title at the start of the season.
Jorginho has been an integral part of how Chelsea plays for almost 4 years now. His unicorn attributes make him a difficult player to replace, so if we are to sell him, we will need to look at a completely new way of playing. I mean, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Having a more traditional defensive midfielder would work a treat. But what if Chelsea is unable to secure Declan Rice's signature in time? Or Aurelien Tchouameni's? Both midfielders have been long term transfer targets for the Blues, however, their ownership situation prohibits them from sealing any deals.
In a unique situation like this, Thomas Tuchel's hands would be tied. Fortunately, the Italian's contract is not up until 2023, meaning that he cannot exit this season unless Chelsea allows him to. On the other hand, that brings me to what Chelsea needs to do.
What Chelsea NEED to do
As I mentioned, Jorginho is a unicorn footballer. Obtaining a traditional midfielder would be a necessity for us to move away from the 'regista' role. I'm all here for it as the defence will need an extra layer of protection with two of our resident centre backs leaving in the summer.
There are a number of things that Chelsea needs to do, securing their new owner is the clear priority. Focusing solely on Jorginho, Chelsea needs to let him go. The likelihood of him signing a new contract is rather slim. With how the contract negotiations have fallen through for players such as Andreas Christensen his season, we cannot afford to take another gamble. We cannot let another valuable player leave for free.
Assuming that Chelsea loses out to their rivals with Rice and Tchouameni, we'll need to look for in house solutions or simply go for different targets once we can.
I do NOT want to see how another contract situation could play out next season. Enough is enough. Give Juventus what they want.
