Chelsea star’s agent plays down rumours linking midfielder with huge move

Chelsea travel to face Aston Villa on Sunday, looking to close the gap on rivals Tottenham Hotspur. 

The Blues currently sit fourth in the Premier League table, just four points and one place behind Spurs, who face Everton on Saturday.

Graham Potter has enjoyed a successful start to his tenure as manager of the club, winning four matches in a row since The Blues’ 1-1 draw with RB Salzburg in his first game in charge.

Wins over Crystal Palace and Wolves, as well as back-to-back victories over AC Milan in the Champions League, have got Chelsea’s season back on track after an inconsistent start.

Potter looks set to once again be without N’Golo Kante for the trip to Villa Park, though, with the Frenchman having already missed two months of the season through injury.

That means Jorginho could once again partner Mateo Kovacic in midfield, although Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will both also be pushing for a start.

Jorginho and Kante both entered into the final 12 months of their contracts over the summer, and now the former’s agent has responded to rumours linking the Italian with a move away from Stamford Bridge.

As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Joao Santos has revealed that the player’s priority is to negotiate a new deal with his current employers.

“His contract is expiring in June but our priority is to negotiate with Chelsea, so we are on it,” he told TMW.

Jorginho’s current contract is set to expire in June

Santos’ comments come after he was seen in Barcelona, sparking rumours that Jorginho could be on his way to the Catalan giants when his Chelsea deal expires.

The agent has now responded, though, claiming that he wasn’t necessarily in the Spanish city to discuss Jorginho.

“Barcelona? Maybe I spoke about him or maybe about other players… I was there as also in Madrid, Lyon, Valencia — it’s my job,” he said.

Jorginho, 30, has played in every one of Chelsea’s 12 games so far this season, and started the 2-0 win over AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday.

The Italy international joined Chelsea from Napoli in the summer of 2018, following Maurizio Sarri from Naples to London.

Since then, he has made exactly 200 appearances for The Blues, although he has been criticised at times for his performances.

The midfielder made errors against both Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United earlier this season, although he did score in the Champions League victory on Tuesday.

Jorginho has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge previously, with several Italian clubs including Juventus touted as having an interest.