Maurizio Sarri stressed that Chelsea need a new holding midfielder after Jorginho found himself “in trouble” during Saturday’s 2-1 win against Newcastle.
Chelsea, who lost Cesc Fabregas to Monaco this month, scraped past Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, but a better side could have punished the hosts given the number of chances gifted to the Magpies.
Do Chelsea need another defensive midfielder? Five key things to know…
- Sarri arrived at Chelsea for £57m in the summer and Jorginho followed him from Napoli.
- The midfielder has largely excelled at the base of midfield for Chelsea, breaking Premier League passing records in his first few games.
- The Italian’s form has dipped recently, as he seems to be struggling with the physical side of the game in the Premier League.
- Chelsea already have a player ready to play in that position, N’Golo Kante, but he has been used in a more advanced role by Sarri.
- The diminutive World Cup winner is arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world but Sarri has said he won’t play Kante in Jorginho’s position.
Sarri highlighted Jorginho for criticism after the game, claiming the Italian midfielder was struggling in midfield and suggesting that he needs another player to deploy in front of the back four.
“As you have seen Jorginho was in trouble, but I didn’t have a player for that position,” Sarri told reporters.
“I have no idea [when it will get sorted]. The club knows very well my opinion. I need a player there. It depends on the club decision. I cannot do anything more.”
Sarri insisted he was happy with the result against Newcastle but was critical of his side’s performance after they took their foot off the gas following Pedro’s early opener.
He continued: “I was happy with the result, I was happy with the performance at Tottenham. We started well, but when we scored we felt like it may be easy, it wasn’t.
“After the goal something happened, we stopped playing. It was important for points and the goals. It is difficult to understand why we stopped. In the last five matches it was hard to score, today we did after nine minutes. We stopped to play and then we had problems.”
Chelsea set for Man Utd transfer tussle?
Chelsea are linked with Cagliari’s Nicolo Barella, who is reported to be a target for Manchester United. Barella is a 21-year-old versatile midfielder compared to Italy and Juventus legend Marco Tardelli, winner of five Scudettos and the World Cup, by national team coach Roberto Mancini.
Another reported target is Leandro Paredes, of Zenit St Petersburg. Paredes, 24, is a deep-lying playmaker from Argentina who has previously been on the books at Roma and Empoli. He caused a stir this week by retweeting a post suggesting he will, or at least is willing to, join Chelsea.
Do Chelsea already have the best defensive midfielder in the world?
Jorginho is the physical embodiment of Sarri’s tactical philosophy, but he struggled against the Magpies. His simple passing clearly frustrated the Stamford Bridge crowd and his unadventurous play was greeted with jeers from the stands.
The Italian, uncharacteristically, also gave the ball away several times to cap off a frustrating evening for the midfielder.
Sarri’s post-match comments about the need to find another option in the holding role in the Blues’ midfield was met by derision from Chelsea fans and football commentators, who pointed out that they already have a capable player to call upon in the form of Kante.
Sarri “Today Jorginho was in trouble and on the bench there wasn’t a player for that position. I need an option for Jorginho.” Great banter from the Chelsea coach as he had the best player in that position in World football on the pitch, @nglkante. 🤣
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 12, 2019
Former Everton, Tottenham and Barcelona striker Gary Lineker was incredulous on Twitter: “Great banter from the Chelsea coach as he had the best player in that position in World football on the pitch.”
The post Maurizio Sarri urges Chelsea to sign a Jorginho alternative after cagey Newcastle win appeared first on Squawka News.
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