Barcelona are keeping close tabs on veteran Chelsea midfielder Jorginho
According to Sport, La Liga juggernauts Barcelona have advanced their contact with Chelsea star Jorginho regarding a potential future transfer.
The Italian has been a key player for the Blues since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Napoli in 2018. Despite experiencing ups and downs, Jorginho has impressed under several managers and is largely a first XI regular.
His contract, however, runs out next summer and as of yet, Chelsea have been unable to reach an agreement regarding an extension. This leaves the door open for him to leave on a free at the end of the current campaign.
An experienced head who played a major role in the club’s UEFA Champions League success and Italy’s Euro 2020 win, the 30-year-old is attracting attention from the Nou Camp. Barcelona have enjoyed considerable success in the free agent market last summer and look likely to exploit it once again next year.
Good on the ball and possessing acute positional awareness, Jorginho is a smart player who more than makes up for his lack of pace with other traits. A move to the physically less demanding Spanish top flight will further exemplify his qualities, perhaps even prolonging his career at the top level for a couple of years.
Barcelona are slowly yet surely rebuilding under Xavi Hernandez and will benefit from adding Jorginho to their roster. Apart from his obvious quality on the ball, the Italian will also bring with him much experience to balance out Pedri and Gavi’s youthful exuberance.
The 30-year-old is not the only midfielder on Barcelona’s radar. They are also keeping track of his fellow Premier League counterparts in Ilkay Gundagon and Youri Tielemans. With N’Golo Kante, another potential free agent also among those on the list, Chelsea could be in for a turbulent few months ahead.
A lot could depend on whether Chelsea are keen to keep Jorginho. The Blues lost Andreas Christensen to the Catalans last summer before Marcos Alonso also made a similar switch. It remains to be seen if Jorginho will be the next big name to swap out the blue for the Blaugrana.
