Football journalist David Ornstein has claimed that Arsenal only signed Jorginho from Chelsea as they were unable to secure Moises Caicedo’s services from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea were interested in Caicedo, with the two London outfits making initial bids of £60 million and £55 million respectively. The Seagulls rejected both offers, valuing the Ecuadorian midfielder at £90 million (as per The Independent).
The Gunners then improved on their original offer and tabled a £70 million bid, which was once again rejected by Brighton, as reported by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The two clubs were unable to progress further in their negotiations for Caicedo, despite his public plea to the Brighton hierarchy to let him leave the club in pursuit of top-level football.
Arsenal then shifted their sights towards Chelsea midfielder Jorginho and secured the Italian’s services for £12 million on deadline day. Ornstein has now offered an insight into the north London outfit’s transfer business on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel.
The Athletic journalist said (via HITC):
“It was more of a reaction to missing out on Moises Caicedo. Although it’s not a like-for-like replacement it was conceivable that Jorginho would move because he’s out of contract in the summer and there were no talks about a new deal. He’s a player Arsenal have liked for a long time and they tried to sign him previously.”
Jorginho has had a great career at Stamford Bridge, winning one UEFA Champions League trophy and a UEFA Europa League. The Italy international has endured somewhat of a decline in form since winning UEFA’s award for Best Player in Europe in 2021.
However, the 31-year-old could prove to be a useful asset in the Arsenal ranks, given his years of Premier League and Champions League experience.
“We didn’t expect him to leave” – Chelsea star opens up about Jorginho’s Arsenal move
Not many expected Jorginho to move to the Emirates Stadium on deadline day, including Chelsea center-back Thiago Silva, who admitted that his former teammate’s last-gasp Arsenal move was a surprise.
The former AC Milan defender told ESPN Brazil (via The Boot Room):
“[He was sold to] a direct rival. But that’s football stuff, it happens. He would like to stay in England because he has family nearby. These are things we have no control over, but we also have to understand the player’s side of things.”
Silva added:
“I know we have a lot of work ahead of us, we lost one of our great leaders in the dressing room, Jorginho, a guy who spoke a lot. There will be this gap, but we have to move on. We didn’t expect him to leave and he did. Now we have to make up for his absence in the best way possible.”