Manchester City have made Napoli midfielder Jorginho one of their top priority transfers this summer.

Recent reports suggest that City have baulked at the Italian side’s asking price for their star man. It’s believed that the English Premier League champions have offered around £40m for the Brazil born player, while Napoli want closer to £63m.

Considering the talent Pep Guardiola already has at his disposal, why is he so intent in adding Jorginho to his pool?

Well when you look at the City squad you can see that the central midfield position needs added strength in depth, especially when it comes to holding players.

Former talisman Yaya Toure could play there from time to time but in all honesty he was always better on the front foot further up the park. The Ivorian departed the Etihad this month on a free transfer, so he can’t be called upon next season.

Fernandinho played in over fifty games last season and Pep won’t want to rely so much on a thirty-three year old next term, you’ve got to believe that City will want to retain their league title and also challenge for the Champions League trophy next year. That would mean that they’d want another sitting midfielder.

You’ve got Ilkay Gundogan. The former Borussia Dortmund player is extremely talented but he’s also suffered from a few serious injuries during his short career. Then there’s the fact that he’s not the best tackler.

English international Fabian Delph is another player that seems never too far away from another injury setback. Plus it should be noted that Guardiola trusted Delph more as a left-back than as a central midfielder, last season he played just once in the middle and made twenty-four appearances as a full-back.

Jorginho would come in and offer composure in the engine room.

The Italian international made around two tackles per Serie A game. His passing success stats were on average at 89% and that’s around the same as Fernandinho’s. Jorginho also produced four assists and scored three goals.

He’s a midfielder who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and who isn’t easily flustered.

His former boss at Napoli Maurizio Sarri said this about the player:

“He has improved so much in terms of character. Tonight he had 167 touches. I’ve seen pages and pages of praise written for players who had 70 less per game.”

While legendary Italian manager Giovanni Trappatoni commented:

“He has brilliant feet, can play in various positions on the pitch and is very smart.”

These two quotes could be made about so many great players that have played under Pep over the years. It shows you that Jorginho is very much a talent that would fit Guardiola’s style.

By bringing the Italian midfielder in, Man City would have that extra depth in their midfield that will be needed to challenge on all fronts in their next campaign. He would also give Pep Guardiola more options in terms of changing his formation, although he’s well suited to the manager’s 4-3-3 formation.

That’s why I believe Manchester City will go in again for Jorginho during this transfer window.

Posted on June 7th, 2018 by scott
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