Arteta signing faces uncertain Arsenal future as agent names three destinations for ‘world-class’ star

Arsenal are yet to agree a new contract with Jorginho and his agent has dropped a fresh hint over what the future could hold for his client.

The Italian holding midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and up until this point, Arsenal are yet to offer the 32-year-old a fresh contract.

Jorginho joined Arsenal in January last year and has proven to be a solid signing for the Gunners. He’s racked up 44 appearances for the club since joining and seems to be enjoying life in north London right now.

The Italian midfielder has started in Arsenal’s last four matches and has formed a good partnership with Declan Rice in the middle.

With Jorginho acting as the holding midfielder in Mikel Arteta’s system, he allows Rice more freedom to roam forward and impact things in the final third.

However, the experienced star faces an uncertain future at the Emirates as his agent has provided an interesting update on his future.

“He is out of contract with the Gunners, we will talk to them because he is doing well. If they need him from next season,” Joao Santos told Radio Sportiva.

When discussing the possibility of Jorginho returning to Italy, Santos added: “It’s always like this in football: Jorginho has played in Italy all his life, he likes it a lot, why say no?”

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Where in Italy would Jorginho go?

With his agent seemingly drumming up interest, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Jorginho return to his native country. After all, he has spent the bulk of his career playing for Hellas Verona and Napoli.

During an interview earlier in the month, his agent discussed the possibility of him returning to Serie A as three different options were discussed.

Santos explained that a move to Lazio could be tempting to link up with former boss Maurizio Sarri, however, the former Chelsea boss left the club earlier this month.

Along with joining a side like Lazio, Santos also namedropped the likes of Juventus and Napoli as two potential destinations for his client.

“He’d suit Lazio more, for the presence of coach [Maurizio] Sarri who already knows his characteristics very well,” Santos said prior to Sarri leaving the club.

“But also Juve, who have a great director of sport like Cristiano Giuntoli, who he spent many years with at Napoli. I would not rule out a return to Napoli with new coach [Francesco] Calzona, who used to work with Sarri before that.”

While Arsenal surely won’t want to lose a player of Jorginho’s experience, it is worth noting that they are actively exploring midfield options themselves.

With Thomas Partey also expected to move on in the summer, Edu could have an ambitious midfield rebuild in mind.

Arteta thinks Jorginho is world class

A fresh contract for the Italian midfielder certainly can’t be ruled out, especially with how highly Arteta seems to rate the 32-year-old.

Following a noteworthy performance from the Italian star against Newcastle last month, Arteta was quick to praise the experienced midfielder for his impact on the game.

“He’s a top player, especially when the opponents have certain behaviours or certain set-up,” Arteta told reporters.

“The way I can imagine the game, he is going to have a big impact, but I think you have to do it at this level and when he’s not playing consistently, credit to him because he was magnificent today, again.

“He is certainly [world-class] but I think individually today we were outstanding in the way we played and we raised the bar again.”

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