Chelsea have signed Italy international Jorginho from Napoli after Manchester City pulled out of a £50m deal.
Jorginho, 26, has signed a five-year contract to join former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.
On Thursday, City were assured by Jorginho’s agent that the midfielder still wanted to join them, despite Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis saying the player favoured Chelsea.
“I am absolutely ecstatic to be here at Chelsea,” Jorginho said. “It is not easy to become part of such a big team so I am very, very happy. I am excited to play in such an intense league for a team that gives everything to play and win.”
Brazil-born Jorginho had been at Napoli since 2014 and scored four goals in 36 appearances for the side last season as they finished second in Serie A.
He scored a penalty in Napoli’s 4-2 Champions League defeat by Manchester City in November and also played for Italy in a 1-1 draw with England in March.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia described him as “one of the most coveted midfielders in Europe”.
Manchester City are not very impressed at all at how this has worked out because they thought an agreement was in place.
They are of the opinion that part of the fee Napoli will receive from Chelsea – likely to be about £57m – will be considered compensation for Sarri’s departure.
Their view is that it was made clear to Jorginho that Napoli would only do business with Chelsea – and with the player desperate to move to the Premier League, City lost out.
City have walked away from deals before when the fees involved got too high, notably with Alexis Sanchez and Riyad Mahrez. And they feel Mahrez’s subsequent arrival from Leicester this summer for a club record £60m – much less than they were quoted in January – proved the wisdom of that approach.
Manager Pep Guardiola had viewed Jorginho as a replacement for Yaya Toure and he is now assessing his options.
The return of left-back Benjamin Mendy after missing most of last term means it is possible Fabian Delph could be used in a central midfielder role instead, meaning there would be no need to bring in an additional signing.
Jorginho – full name Jorge Luiz Frello Filho – was utilised primarily as a deep-lying midfielder by Sarri at Napoli and has been likened in style to former Spain international Xabi Alonso and ex-Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo.
Having been born in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, Jorginho qualified for Italian citizenship through his grandparents and rose through the youth ranks at Hellas Verona before making his Serie B debut in September 2011.
He played a key role in helping Verona win promotion to Serie A in May 2013, which prompted Rafael Benitez to bring him to Napoli for £9m in January 2014, and won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in his first year in Naples.
Jorginho has won eight caps for Italy having made his international debut in a 1-1 friendly draw with Spain in March 2016.