Silva makes feelings clear to Chelsea owner Boehly over Jorginho exit

Enzo Fernandez joins Chelsea

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Thiago Silva has spoken about how the Chelsea dressing room has lost a ‘great leader’ due to the sale of Jorginho to Arsenal on deadline day. The midfielder was set to become a free agent at the end of the season so the Blues decided to cash in on his services.

Chelsea enjoyed the busiest transfer window of all Premier League clubs in January, splashing the cash in all departments. The Blues are currently 10th in the Premier League and will need to improve markedly if they are to finish in the top four, and Graham Potter will be relying on his new recruits to spark their revival.

Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile and Enzo Fernandez arrived at Stamford Bridge as part of their mass overhaul, with Chelsea targeting young players that will improve over time. Though that will mean that the squad lacks leadership and experience, which Jorginho did have in abundance.

The Italy international was sold to Arsenal in a deal worth £10million, with Mikel Arteta finally securing the signature of his long-term target. Speaking to ESPN Brasil about Jorginho’s departure, he explained: “[It was to] a direct rival. But that’s football stuff, it happens.

“He would like to stay in England because he has family nearby. These are things we have no control over, but we also have to understand the player’s side of things. I know we have a lot of work ahead of us, we lost one of our great leaders in the dressing room, Jorginho, a guy who spoke a lot.

“There will be this gap, but we have to move on. We didn’t expect him to leave and he did. Now we have to make up for his absence in the best way possible.”

Silva’s comments certainly indicated that the Brazil international is slightly sceptical about Todd Boehly greenlighting the departure and allowing such an influential character to depart for a small fee, in the grand scheme of the window. However, with more spending expected over the summer, any recouped funds are likely to be put to good use.

Jorginho made it no secret that he was looking forward to being a part of Arsenal’s title charge this season, with the north London side five points clear at the top of the table, and working under Arteta.

He explained: “He was a big influence because I know that he tried a few times to get me before and it didn’t happen due to other reasons, not because of my wishes. So of course, he had a big influence.

“I’m very excited for this new challenge, and I just can’t wait to be on the pitch, to be honest! Everything has happened so fast. I was a bit surprised, but I took the opportunity of this amazing challenge.”

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