Arsenal have confirmed that they have signed Jorginho on a permanent basis from rivals Chelsea for a fee that could rise to £12m with add-ons.
The Gunners have moved quickly to sign Jorginho before the transfer window closed on Tuesday night.
The World Cup winner was due to be out of contract at the end of this season but Chelsea have let him go now so he does not depart on a free transfer in the summer.
Arsenal were previously targeting Moises Caicedo, but Brighton made it abundantly clear that their prized asset will not be departing the club this month.
Jorginho has started 15 times for Chelsea in the Premier League this season and his experience could prove to be important as Arsenal look to beat Man City to the Premier League title.
Fabrizio Romano is reporting that the midfielder has penned a deal until 2024 and Arsenal will pay an initial £10m to Chelsea and this fee could rise to £12m with add-ons.
Arsenal duo Edu and Mikel Arteta have been full of praise for the club’s new signing.
“Jorginho is an established professional with a strong mentality who brings quality and experience into our squad,” technical director Edu said.
“He is a player who fits our style of play, and he joins us at a very good moment where he can contribute in a key position to help maintain our momentum. We welcome Jorginho to Arsenal.”
Head coach Arteta added: “Jorginho is a midfield player with intelligence, deep leadership skills and a huge amount of Premier League and international experience. Jorginho has won in his career, but he still has the hunger and huge willingness to contribute here.
“We are so pleased to sign Jorginho and welcome him and his family to the club.”
Jorginho meanwhile has insisted that he is relishing this “amazing challenge”.
“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,” Jorginho said (via the club’s website).
“I was a bit surprised, but I took the opportunity of this amazing challenge.
“It’s an important shirt. It’s an amazing club, a big one, and I’m really excited and happy to be here.
“I’ll try to just bring positive energy, hard work and my experience to help the team. It’s what I always bring with me.
“I try just to help with the experience I’ve had in my time with the other clubs and anything I can do just to help the team to achieve more and more, that’s my target.
“All I can promise is that I’m…
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