City, United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea all in £53m race for Napoli’s Jorginho 
Jorginho, the Napoli midfielder, expects to move to England this summer, with each member of the Premier League’s top six interested in signing the Italian. It is understood that Napoli have set an asking price of ?60 million (£52.9 million) for Jorginho after he played a key role in helping the Italian club mount a title challenge. The 26-year-old has scored three goals – including one against Manchester City – this season, but his main role has been linking Napoli’s defence and attack. City, the Premier League champions, have scouted Jorginho extensively this season, and are considered to be the front-runners in the race for the holding midfielder’s signature.
Jorginho, who was born in Brazil, but moved to Italy at a young age, is an admirer of Pep Guardiola’s style of play. The City manager views Jorginho as a long-term replacement for Fernandinho, who turned 33 last week. The Catalan will also be one midfielder light for next season after Yaya Touré reached the end of his contract. But Guardiola will face competition from second-placed Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Arsenal for Jorginho.
All five clubs have sounded out the Italian’s representatives through intermediaries recently. Jorginho is Liverpool’s no.1 midfield target for the summer transfer window, but the Merseyside club believe he is likely to plump for City. Jorginho has also told friends that he believes Maurizio Sarri, who presently manages Napoli, would be interested in taking him to Chelsea should he replace Antonio Conte in the home dugout at Stamford Bridge in the summer. Jorginho has made it clear that he would like to move to England at the end of the season and plans to speak to Napoli officials following the culmination of the Italian season in just under two weeks’ time. Napoli are refusing to budge from their asking price, which could prove tricky for Arsenal, who also have the disadvantage of not being able to offer the midfielder Champions League football.
The Italian club have reluctantly accepted that they will have to cash in on Jorginho, who they signed from Verona four years ago, because he has two years left on his contract.
Jorginho won the Coppa Italia with Napoli in 2014. The midfielder has Italian citizenship through his grandparents and has played for the national team five times.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/698b3aec-545f-11e8-9795-08ef69e784e8 [ 此帖被羅力亞在2018-07-14 19:28重新編輯 ]
