12 October 2023 , 07:10
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Jorginho's links to Barcelona are going nowhere, with more talk indicating the Arsenal man could be on his way to Catalunya.
The Italy international has been in England for more than five years, joining Chelsea in the summer of 2018 and moving across the capital to Arsenal in January. He is under contract with the Gunners until the end of this season, with an option to extend his stay by a further year, but talk of a Barcelona switch have grown louder.
Barcelona are understood to be keen to add further reinforcements in the middle of the park after bringing Oriol Romeu back to Camp Nou over the summer. Jorginho is among the high-profile names linked, and it's not the first time he has been mentioned in connection with the Catalan side.
According to reports from Sport in November 2022, Jorginho's agent Joao Santos met with Barcelona chief Mateu Alemany to discuss a move. Santos was seen in Barcelona at the time, but denied meeting with Alemany and oversaw the star's move to Arsenal two months later.
The Barcelona links go back a lot further, though. Back in 2015, when Jorginho was still developing into a star at Napoli, Santos compared the Serie A side's philosophy with that of Barca. The comments came as the player signed a long-term contract renewal in Naples, but have not been forgotten around Camp Nou.
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“Napoli for life? Napoli have a similar philosophy to Barcelona, buy players at around 21 and improve them so you can reap the rewards five years down the line," Santos said at the time.
How long will Jorginho stay at Arsenal? Have your say in the comments section
Jorginho has only started one league game this season (Matt Impey/REX/Shutterstock)Jorginho played 14 Premier League games for Arsenal last season, nine of them starts. While he didn't officially score for the club, his last-minute effort against Aston Villa cannoned in off the head of Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez to help clinch a late victory.
This season he has started just once in the league - in Sunday's victory over Manchester City - with record signing Declan Rice increasing competition for places in the middle of the park. Rice himself has been one of Jorinho's biggest fans, lavishing the Azzurri star with praise in a recent Channel 4 interview.
“The one who surprised me so much, not surprised because I knew he was such a good player anyway. Playing with him every day in training and seeing how he is because he’s not the biggest is Jorginho," Rice said.
“His brain, the way it works as a holding midfielder, I’ve just been trying to pick up little things off of him. He’s always in position, he always knows when to pass, always creates time for himself, he’s an outstanding trainer.”