Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella was left shocked when he was informed mid-interview that Jorginho was on the verge of signing for Arsenal.
The Gunners have made a shock, late swoop for the Italian midfielder as Mikel Arteta looks to improve his midfield, with a season-ending injury to Mohamed Elneny limiting his options.
Arsenal had made several bids to try and sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton but the club were adamant he was not for sale.
That saw technical director Edu explore other options and Jorginho emerged as an interesting possibility, with Chelsea ready to cash in as he entered the last six months of his contract.
Arsenal have already agreed a £12m fee and will hand the Italy International a one-and-a-half-year contract until the summer of 2024, with the option to trigger another year.
Jorginho has been pictured posing for photos in an Arsenal kit and one leaked image reveals him giving his first interview with the club’s media team.
But Cucurella clearly has not been paying much attention to the saga and was shocked to find out that the Italian was currently at London Colney and not Cobham.
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The defender was giving an interview with Goal.com when he named Jorginho as the smartest player in Chelsea’s team, only to be informed that he wasn’t part of the team anymore.
Here’s the exchange in full…
Cucurella: The smartest player in the squad is Jorginho – 100%! Because he has a…
Interviewer: Errrr, I don’t think he plays for Chelsea anymore.
Cucurella: No?!
Interviewer: I think he’s transferring to Arsenal.
Cucurella: I would say Jorginho no club, no? Or change?
Interviewer: I think you’ve got to change it.
Cucurella: Yeah? But it’s now!
Interviewer: He’s gone to Arsenal, it’s happening today.
Cucurella: Yeah? I read yesterday…
Interviewer: There’s photos of him (in the kit)
Cucurella: Nooo! (laughs)
Chelsea are desperate to bring in a new midfielder of their own before the transfer window slams shut on Tuesday evening and are working around the clock to try and secure a deal for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have completed the signing of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in a British record deal which is worth more than £100m.
Fernandez’s arrival at Stamford Bridge takes Chelsea’s January spending to around £300m, with the club paying £89m for Mykhailo Mudryk earlier in the month.
