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[Photos] Jorginho all smiles in Arsenal kit after completing £12m move from Chelsea
Arsenal have completed a surprise deadline day swoop to sign Jorginho from Chelsea.
We have been on the hunt for a new central midfielder since last summer when we failed with a late move for Douglas Luiz. Mikel Arteta’s need for reinforcements was heightened after Mohamed Elneny suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury in training last week.
Arsenal have been desperately trying to sign Moises Caicedo in recent weeks but have seen at least two offers worth up to £70m rejected by Brighton – who are adamant the Ecuadorian international won’t leave this month.
We’ve been forced to look elsewhere and Jorginho emerged as a shock target in the last 24 hours with reports on Tuesday morning claiming we were in talks with Chelsea trying to thrash out a deal.
Those negotiations proved successful and Jorginho soon headed to London Colney to undergo his medical and finalise terms. The formalities have been completed and Arsenal have announced on Arsenal.com that Jorginho has joined the club.
Fabrizio Romano claims the midfielder has signed an 18-month contract with the option for another year, and Arsenal have paid £10m up front and a further £2m in add-ons, meaning the entire deal is worth up to £12m. The Italian only had 6 months left on his contract at Stamford Bridge so we’ve been able to snap him up on a cut-price deal.
The 31-year-old has been snapped posing in his new Arsenal kit and he’ll be wearing the No.20 shirt – which was vacated by Nuno Tavares following his loan to Marseille last summer.
Jorginho arrives with huge Premier League experience, a winning mentality and a lot of qualities that should make him an excellent fit in Arteta’s young squad.
He’s a deep lying midfielder who can fill-in for Thomas Partey when needed and also provide support for Granit Xhaka during the second half of the season, so he should be a solid short-term solution.
The low fee and short contract also means Arsenal’s summer plans won’t be affected, so we can go after key midfield targets such as Caicedo and Declan Rice.
Jorginho becomes our third major signing of the January window following the arrivals of attacker Leandro Trossard and defender Jakub Kiwior.
Here are some more photos of Jorginho courtesy of Arsenal.com: