Barcelona eye move for Chelsea star whose contract expires next summer

Barcelona eye up a move for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho next summer

According to the Mirror (h/t Football.London), Spanish giants Barcelona are considering a move for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho next summer as a replacement for Sergio Busquets. The Italian’s contract expires at Stamford Bridge at the same time too.

Unless he signs a contract extension soon, the Euro 2021 winner can talk to overseas clubs from January onwards. Barcelona are looking to replace 35-year-old Busquets with him.

The prospect of Jorginho becoming a free agent is an attraction for the Spanish side, who are cash-strapped at the moment.

The 30-year-old arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2018 along with his former manager Maurizio Sarri. The Blues spent £57m to prize him away from Italian side Napoli.

The midfielder had a big old struggle to settle in the Premier League in the first season or so. Since then, he has been one of the key cogs in the Chelsea midfield. He played the whole game in the 2021 Champions League final win against City.

The future of Jorginho could depend on whether new manager Graham Potter fancies him in years to come. The other caveat here is the player’s age – 30. Top clubs generally are cautious when handing contract extensions to players who have turned 30, exceptions aside, obviously.

The indication of that might be clear in the window of games before the World Cup. It is up to the player now to showcase that he can be a key player in the squad moving forward.

From Chelsea’s viewpoint, given the already muddled contract extension talks with N’Golo Kante (31), they need to decide soon who to keep beyond this season. Keeping hold of both would mean increasing the age profile of the midfield, which would not be helpful in the future.

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Losing him on a free, however, would be a blow given his quality and status. Nevertheless, if he does not pen a new deal, we may not be left with a lot of options and see him follow in the footsteps of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christnensen in terms of leaving the club as a free agent.