European giants plot raid on Arsenal for experienced star; Mikel Arteta happy to sell him in January

Barcelona are considering making a move for Arsenal midfielder Jorginho when the transfer window re-opens in January, according to reports. 

The 31-year-old left Chelsea for the Gunners last winter but has been forced to play a back-up role, first to Granit Xhaka, now to Declan Rice.

Jorginho has made just one Premier League start this season – in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Man City last weekend – but he remains behind Rice in the pecking order.

The Italy international has made 24 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions so far, making one assist and scoring no goals

Jorginho’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, although the Gunners have the option to extend it by another year. Nevertheless, everything points towards him leaving in January.

As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Fenerbahce were very interested in signing the defensive midfielder in September but were unable to reach an agreement with Arsenal.

Now, it appears Barcelona could make a move for the experienced Jorginho this winter.

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Barcelona hold a long-standing interest in Jorginho

According to ESPN, Jorginho has been added to Barcelona manager Xavi’s list of transfer targets ahead of the January window.

Barcelona are understood to be keen to add further reinforcements in the middle of the park after bringing in Oriol Romeu over the summer.

Jorginho is among the high-profile names linked, and it’s not the first time he has emerged as a target for the Spanish giants.

As cited by the Daily Mirror, a report from November 2022 claimed that Jorginho’s agent Joao met with Barcelona chief Mateu Alemany to discuss a move. Santos denied meeting with Alemany, however, and oversaw the star’s move to Arsenal two months later.

The Barcelona links go back a lot further, though. In 2015, when Jorginho was still developing into a star at Napoli, Santos compared the Serie A side’s philosophy with Barcelona’s. The comments came aafter the player signed a long-term contract renewal in Naples.

“Napoli for life? Napoli have a similar philosophy to Barcelona, buy players at around 21 and improve them so you can reap the rewards five years down the line,” Santos said at the time.

Barcelona have not forgotten those comments, and could finally seal a deal for Jorginho this winter. Whether or not they will reach an agreement with Arsenal remains to be seen, but it’s thought that Arteta would be happy to sell him for the right price.

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