Jorginho is travelling to North London to finalise a shock move to Arsenal after a £12m deal was agreed with Chelsea, according to David Ornstein.
Mikel Arteta wants to strengthen his midfield options this month and Arsenal have been desperately trying to agree a deal with Brighton for Moises Caicedo.
Two bids worth at least £70m have been rejected for the Ecuadorian international and Brighton have made it clear he won’t be leaving before the January transfer window shuts.
Arsenal have now accepted defeat and moved onto other targets, with widespread reports claiming they are now in talks with Chelsea over a surprise deal to sign Jorginho.
The Athletic journalist David Ornstein was one of the first to report that Arsenal are ‘advancing’ towards a deal for the 31-year-old after acknowledging that Brighton aren’t going to sell Caicedo.
Now, Ornstein says a £12m deal has been agreed with Chelsea and Jorginho is now heading to North London to undergo his medical. Personal terms have already been agreed over an 18 month contract with an option for another year.
Reinforcements
Arsenal are in the market for a midfielder following a long-term injury to Egypt international Mohamed Elneny. Arteta wants to provide competition for the likes Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey in the middle of the park.
Any injury to key players like Partey, Xhaka or Martin Ødegaard would have a serious effect on the team, forcing Arteta to enter the market to add at least one more midfielder and is looks like he’s settled on Jorginho.
The London-based club are eyeing a summer move for West Ham ace Declan Rice but want a stop-gap midfielder to solve their midfield issues before spending big at the end of the season.
However, any proposed deal for Jorginho may be dependant on Chelsea finalising their £115m move for Benfica star Anzo Fernandez. So it could be a hectic deadline day in London with Arsenal waiting for the Blues to tie-up their deal before Jorginho will be allowed to seal his move to the Emirates.
***UPDATE*** David Ornstein now says a £12m deal has been agreed. Jorginho is heading to Arsenal to undergo his medical
