Jorginho will be an unfortunate victim of the Chelsea rebuild

Jorginho will likely be sold in the summer, through no fault of his own.

The young, exciting team that manager Frank Lampard is assembling at Chelsea leaves one odd man out: Jorginho.

The significant improvements the 28-year-old has made to fix his game in order to succeed in the Premier League will ultimately be moot, and it’s a shame because he does not deserve it. However, it’s what has to be done, and Lampard knows it.

What made Jorginho so successful this season

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Earlier in the season, the Italian was undroppable and a critical member of the first team, playing in all but three games before COVID-19 forced the league’s suspension.

Jorginho often played with a partner at the base of the midfield, which was usually Mateo Kovacic as N’Golo Kante struggled with injury problems, with Mason Mount at the No. 10 position.

This lineup coincided with Chelsea’s best form of the season, the period from September to mid-November where they won seven out of eight games, the only exception being a narrow loss to Liverpool.

Even when Chelsea’s form dipped shortly after, it was not due to Jorginho, but rather the inconsistency of the youngsters in the squad, combining an inability to finish off chances with a leaky defence.

All season, Jorginho has been a calming presence and has helped his team so much in possession, circulating the ball efficiently and effectively as well as showing excellent vision to make key passes.

Not to mention his flawless penalty technique, with which he has never missed in the league or Champions League, including two very important goals against Ajax in the 4-4 thriller at Stamford Bridge.

Jorginho has truly gone from zero to hero at Stamford Bridge; from being booed on the ball in his first season to having his name chanted in his second.

So what changed?

Before his ten-minute cameo appearance against Crystal Palace on Tuesday, Jorginho had not played a single minute since the restart. This is due to a slight tweak in Lampard’s tactics.

When Jorginho was playing as a holding midfielder in a midfield three, it meant Kante was pushed forward to a No. 8 position, with the other midfielder being Kovacic, Mount or Ross Barkley playing as a No. 10.

Since Kante is a defensive midfielder by trade, he was always conservative in his attacks and preferred to stay back and protect the backline rather than make runs into the box.

Ever since the restart, though, Lampard chose to move everyone back a position. Kante was returned to his more comfortable position as a defensive midfielder, and Mount and Barkley were played as two attacking No. 8s.

This system has worked very well, because Kante’s unreal work rate, recovery speed and stamina allow Mount and Barkley to focus on starting the attacks instead of always having to worry about tracking back.

While this system has favored the attacking midfielders at Chelsea, it has left Jorginho without a position to play. He cannot do what Kante does, so playing him with Barkley and Mount would be way too dangerous and would leave the side exposed at the back.

His diminishing value to the team was shown when Lampard, in the absence of Kante and Kovacic through injury, selected young Billy Gilmour to start ahead of Jorginho.

Gilmour had a fairly good game, but he never gave his side that confidence in possession that Jorginho brings, and the Italian brought that instantly after coming on. If Lampard had not made that substitution, there’s a good chance Chelsea would’ve dropped points.

Even with all his class, he is not the mobile, athletic presence the Blues need at holding midfield, and with players like Kante, Kovacic, and even Gilmour capable of playing that position, he seems to be an unfortunate casualty of Lampard’s rebuild.

Why Jorginho’s days at Chelsea are numbered

Even with the current squad, he has not started since the restart. When you take into account potential incoming transfers, his chances look even slimmer.

The transfer which would certainly condemn Jorginho to an exit is that of Kai Havertz. If reports are to be believed, Chelsea are closing in on signing the generational talent from Bayer Leverkusen.

There is some disagreement between the two clubs regarding the transfer fee, with Chelsea offering £70m while Leverkusen want £90m, but the difference will likely be settled through performance-based bonuses.

Either way, it’s a lot of money, and even though the Blues are in a good spot financially club owner Roman Abramovich has made it clear that Lampard must sell players to fund more transfers.

Since Jorginho is already out of favor at Chelsea, signing Havertz would mean even more midfield options, and the Italian seems to be the odd man out.

He is also wanted by Juventus and former manager Maurizio Sarri, who brought him to Stamford Bridge, with a fee of around £50m being discussed. The 28-year-old’s sale would help with the purchase of Havertz, which is seen as a priority.

Lampard also wants to purchase a new left-back and centre-back, so the funds raised from Jorginho’s transfer, as well as several others, would come in handy.

A summer exit is looking more and more likely, and if the Havertz deal is completed, that would be the final nail in his coffin.

Jorginho has fallen victim to an unfavorable situation at Chelsea. Under a different set of conditions, the team’s vice-captain could have had a much longer, very successful career at Stamford Bridge, but sadly that will not be the case.

What Lampard is building with his young but tremendously talented group of players is captivating, and the future looks incredibly bright, but due to circumstances beyond his control, Jorginho will not be a part of it.