Arsenal are considering making a late bid for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho to boost their Premier League title hopes - almost 10 years after they first tried to sign him
Arsenal fans were left in shock when reports of their interest in Chelsea midfielder Jorginho emerged on Monday evening.
It is believed the Gunners are considering a late swoop to sign the Italy international, 31, after failing to agree a transfer fee for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. Chelsea could allow Jorginho to join Arsenal if they sign Benfica's Enzo Fernandez for £115million.
A move to Emirates did not seem on the cards for Jorginho a few days ago, but Arsenal have actually been linked with the midfielder before. There were even a serious transfer talks between the player's representatives and the Gunners in the summer of 2020.
Arsenal's first attempt to sign Jorginho came nearly a decade ago, when the now-iconic midfielder was a little-known star at Italian minnows Hellas Verona. He gained their attention after Hellas achieved promotion from Serie B during the 2012/13 campaign.
Jorginho brought his good form into Serie A - scoring seven league goals from midfield during the first half of the 2013/14 season - and then Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was interested in bringing the 21-year-old to the Emirates. Yet the player had other ideas.
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Three months later, however, Jorginho's spell with Hellas was over. He joined Napoli in January 2014 and quickly made a name for himself with the Italian giants - winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana within a year of his transfer.
That led to Arsenal reigniting their interest in Jorginho. The player's agent Joao Santos told an Italian radio station in November 2015: "One of the head scouts of Arsenal is well-known, and so I know he was at Marassi for the Napoli match. If Napoli receive an irrefutable offer for Jorginho in January then it’s normal that we’d make our assessments."
Speculation was quashed when Jorginho signed a new contract with Napoli in December 2015, but Wenger remained interested in him. There were even rumours of a failed Arsenal bid in July 2015 - believed to be in the region of
£15m.
"Staying here for another season would only do me good," Jorginho told the Italian press in October 2013. "I feel at home here and there is great enthusiasm in this place. In the match against Parma there were scouts from teams like Arsenal and Chelsea. Maybe, if I continue to play well, I can see exactly what I am worth."
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