5 ways Chelsea can benefit from the departure of Eden Hazard

4. Letting Jorginho Be Jorginho

Sarri has caught a lot of flack this season in his deployment of Italian national and former Napoli man Jorginho over arguably the greatest holding midfielder in all of world football right now, N’Golo Kanté. Playing 2018 World Cup winner Kanté in a noticeably more advanced position while Jorginho has played in a deeper role, some of Kanté’s stellar backtracking and cleanup ability have been negated.

But you know what? It hasn’t been all that bad. He’s even looked threatening at times in the final third, though you can’t blame him for still being a pass first kind of player. Kanté is having a breakout offensive season under Sarri, meaning 5 goals across all competitions, but he still remains one of the most reliable defensive midfielders in the game when called upon. It’s simply in his DNA.

With a year under his belt of what it is to be a Premier League midfielder, playing some of the stiffest competition anywhere in Europe, Jorginho can take a step forward next year by taking more ownership in the club and exerting more leadership on the pitch and show why Sarri wanted him to follow to Stamford Bridge. For many, the jury is still.

With a more well-rounded and balanced attack, Jorginho may return to his deep-lying midfield spot where he can pivot and confidently pick out passes to streaking players down the pitch. Too often this past season he has been hesitant and slow on the trigger to find the appropriate pass or too cognizant of getting the ball to Hazard. In some cases those passes would simply kill the Chelsea momentum as Hazard was hemmed in by opposing jerseys with nowhere to go but backwards.

Expect a return to form for Jorginho next season.