BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand has torn into Chelsea summer signing Jorginho, questioning what it is exactly that he contributes to the team from the base of the midfield.
When Jorginho signed along the dotted line in the summer, Chelsea fans were understandably excited. Not only had we signed a Rolls-Royce of a midfielder, but we stole him from under the nose of Manchester City. It looked to be an excellent piece of business.
We’re not saying that Jorginho has been a bad acquisition, we dread to think what ‘Sarriball’ would look like without him in the team, but there is certainly an argument that he hasn’t been contributing sufficiently in terms of both defence and attack.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who now provides punditry for BT Sport, isn’t impressed with what he’s seen of the Italian so far in a Chelsea shirt. Speaking following Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Arsenal on Saturday, he’s quoted by the Express saying:
“Jorginho is someone who sets the tempo of the game. You get the ball to him through the middle third of the pitch, he’s very good. How many assists has he got this season? Around 2000 passes, no assists.”
“He’s not a great defender. Once again, in a game like this against a big team, he gets overrun in midfield. He can’t run. So, he doesn’t give you anything defensively, and he doesn’t give you anything at the other end of the pitch.”
We’re inclined to agree with Rio, Jorginho does need to contribute more. Our worry is that he is incapable of doing so. He is good at executing the one task asked of him, but nothing more. Only time will tell whether he proves to be a successful signing for us long-term.