Arsenal have agreed a £12million deal with London rivals Chelsea to sign midfielder Jorginho on transfer deadline day, football.london understands. The Gunners agreed £10million in guaranteed fees with £2million in add-ons, with the 31-year-old set to sign a contract until summer 2024 ,with an option to extend for an extra year.
The Italy international brings plenty of experience with him to the Emirates Stadium, having captained the Blues on several occasions as well as winning some of football's biggest trophies. Jorginho adds plenty of depth in the deeper areas of the central ranks, somewhere Mikel Arteta has struggled with for a while.
Last summer saw the Spaniard attempt to rectify this on deadline day, identifying Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz as the ideal target to solve the issue. The Brazilian ended up staying in the West Midlands, signing a new deal with the Villans and dashing all hope of a potential switch.
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Since then, a full blown title push has commenced for the Gunners, putting themselves top of the league and several points clear of Manchester City in second. With such an opportunity available to them, the need for quality in depth is clear, with the addition of Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior so far in January.
However, injury to Mohamed Elneny and an injury scare for Thomas Partey appeared to prompt Arteta, who said he wanted another addition in the midfield. "We need some more cover in midfield ideally if we can, but in this market it is pretty complicated to do that," he said.
The move for Jorginho may have solved that issue, with the Italy international set to make the switch from London rivals Chelsea, with his Blues contract due to expire this summer.
He could make his debut in the red of Arsenal very soon too, with the possibility of facing off against Everton in the early kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday.
It remains to be seen how much of a success the Italian will be, but it could be the depth that the Gunners need to cross the line first in the title race.
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