According to Diario Sport, Barcelona are preparing a bid for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho in January with AC Milan also interested in the player.
Jorginho is currently in the final year of his contract with the Blues. The Blaugrana want to bring the Italian midfielder to Camp Nou in January itself.
Xavi is looking to reinforce his midfield in the next transfer window.
Sergio Busquets is now 34-year-old and is nowhere near the level that he once was. Jorginho might be a like-for-like replacement for the Spaniard.
The Chelsea man possesses great vision and passing ability. Jorginho has also established himself at international level as he was one of the most influential players for Italy during their 2020 EURO triumph.
The 30-year-old has made 17 appearances for the Blues this season, scoring three goals. Since making a switch to Stamford Bridge from Napoli in 2018, Jorginho has made 205 appearances for the club. He has scored 29 goals and provided nine assists in that time.
Barcelona want to sign Jorginho in January even though they might get him for free in the summer of 2023 if he doesn’t renew his contract with Chelsea. However, the Blues are competing in the Champions League, which would make a January move difficult as the Catalans have been eliminated from the competition.
Moreover, AC Milan are also interested in signing the Italian.
Chelsea manager Graham Potter was happy with Denis Zakaria’s performance
Denis Zakaria finally made his first Chelsea appearance after joining the club during the summer transfer window on loan from Juventus. He also bagged a goal in a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zabreg in the UEFA Champions League on November 2.
Graham Potter was happy with the midfielder’s performance as he told the media after the home win (via football.london):
“He showed his quality, won the ball back, helped with our attacking play, and obviously to score is fantastic. You can see the quality he has and we’ve seen it in training as well. He can strike a good ball so I think it was a nice goal for him and the team. It was an important goal for us so I’m happy he contributed to the team performance and for him to score was nice.”
Further reflecting on whether he was surprised by Zakaria’s performance, Potter credited him for his hard work and fitness. He said:
“He’s been, as you can imagine, frustrated and disappointed when he doesn’t play. That’s the life of a player but he’s handled himself really well. He’s kept himself fit, he’s trained really hard, supported the team and his teammates in a really good way.”
He added:
“When you do that, you give yourself a chance to perform when your opportunity comes. So credit to him. Everyone was so happy for him and it was a great story for the whole group I think.”