KEY POINTS

  • Jorginho has been at Chelsea since 2018
  • He won the UCL with Chelsea in 2020-21
  • Jorginho's contract with Chelsea is due to expire in the 2023 summer

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has reportedly demanded more than double his current salary as a part of a new contract.

Jorginho's current deal with Chelsea is due to expire in the summer of 2023. The Italian midfielder has informed Chelsea that he is prepared to sign a contract extension as long as they meet his wage demands of $14million-a-year, reported Spanish outlet THE SPORT.

The 30-year-old Jorginho's current annual wage at Chelsea is around $6.5 million, according to Salary Sport.

Jorginho has established himself as a key player for Chelsea since joining them from Napoli in 2018. He has been a part of the Blues side that won the Champions League in 2020-21 and the Europa League in 2018-19. Even though he will turn 31 later this year, Jorginho is still a quality player and is expected to play at the highest level for a few more seasons.

While his salary is believed to be a major hindrance between him and a new Chelsea contract, it is going to be interesting to see if both parties can reach a compromise.

If they do not, Jorginho will be allowed to begin negotiations from Jan. 1 and could even reach a pre-season contract with another club. That would mean he will either leave Chelsea in the winter window or in the 2023 summer as a free agent.

Jorginho has been heavily linked with FC Barcelona, who secured Chelsea defenders Marcos Alonso and Christensen ahead of this season. The Catalans are seeing Jorginho as a replacement for club legend Sergio Busquets. The Italian midfielder does have the quality and experience to take over Busquets' role at Camp Nou.

Jorginho misses his penalty against Switzerland
Jorginho misses his penalty against Switzerland AFP / Alberto PIZZOLI

Meanwhile, Barcelona could also drop their interest in Jorginho because of their financial constraints, reported TodoFichajes.

Even AC Milan are in the race to sign Jorginho and a return to Italy could certainly temp the Euro 2020 winner.

Chelsea's defense was shaken in the summer after they lost left-back Alonso and center-back pair of Christensen and Antonio Rudiger. The Blues may lose two of their key midfielders in the upcoming summer market. Apart from Jorginho, even N'Golo Kante is being linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge. The Frenchman has entered the final few months of his Chelsea contract.

Soccer