“Everything is at a standstill” - Jorginho’s agent breaks silence on Arsenal future amid interest from Barcelona and Juventus
Jorginho's agent Joao Santos has opened up about his client's future at Arsenal ahead of the January transfer window.
Jorginho joined the Gunners from London rivals Chelsea in January earlier this year for £12 million. He has since made 30 appearances for them and provided an assist. The 31-year-old midfielder's contract expires next summer and his future has been under speculation.
Amidst reports of a potential January exit, the veteran's agent Joao Santos recently told Tuttomercatoweb (via BianconeriNews):
"Everything is at a standstill. We will think about it after February. The priority, however, remains Arsenal."
The Italian midfielder has been linked with a move to Barcelona following their injury issues (via Sport Bible). Juventus are also interested in Jorginho's services and his agent has previously spoken about his client's potential return to Italy, saying:
“Italy is always in our hearts, never say never. If there is an Italian team that needs Jorge and his characteristics, we will see what will happen.
“Jorge's characteristic is unique and needed by all teams in the world. When the coach needs that characteristic he will call Jorge.”
The Italy international has made 14 appearances across competitions for Arsenal this season but started just eight games.
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho sets unwanted record for Italy on international duty
Italy beat North Macedonia 5-2 in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers on Friday, November 17. While it was a great performance for the Azzurri, Jorginho saw his penalty attempt saved by Stole Dimitrievski. The midfielder has become the first Italian to miss four consecutive penalties.
After the game, however, Italy manager Luciano Spalletti showed faith in the Arsenal man, saying (via Football Italia):
“Jorginho took the penalty because he has a strong character. Perhaps it could’ve been more into the corner, but this is his technique for taking penalties.
“We have other penalty specialists too and perhaps it would make things difficult for him if we sent him back to the spot the way I did in the press conference the other day."
He added:
“We are evaluating other situations too, let’s say. As a midfield playmaker, he brings organisation to the team not just with the ball at his feet, but also indicating the positions to his teammates. He has a strong character, is accustomed to controlling the squad.”
The former Chelsea midfielder has taken 49 penalties in his career so far, scoring 41 of them. At Arsenal, however, he is behind the likes of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard in the penalty-taking pecking order.