Arsenal agree £13m fee with Chelsea for Jorginho transfer

The Italian midfielder has been at Chelsea since 2018

(Getty Images)

Arsenal and Chelsea have agreed a £13 million deal for Jorginho, with the 31-year-old midfielder now set to complete a medical.

Formal negotiations on a fee began on Monday afternoon and were concluded swiftly due to the suitability to all parties. Chelsea want to clear space in an increasingly bloated squad, Jorginho wants football, and Arsenal want a midfielder to bolster their title challenge.

The thinness in that area combined with Thomas Partey's risk of injury in Friday night's FA Cup defeat to Manchester City only convinced Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal hierarchy that they had to bring another player of quality in, which initially hastened a move for Moises Caicedo.

Brighton and Hove Albion were obstinate in their refusal to sell the player for anything under their valuation in this window, and Arsenal did not want to go above a £65m straight fee. The club felt £90m was far too high for a player they greatly admire but still had relatively little experience, especially with a planned move for West Ham United's Declan Rice in the summer.

That made Jorginho a logical option, with Chelsea and Arsenal having done business in the past. The Italian international himself quickly agreed personal terms and agreed a deal of one and a half years with the option of a further season.