Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has backed Mateo Kovacic to be Jorghinho’s backup after Chelsea failed to sign a single midfielder in the winter.
Jorginho’s arrival at Stamford Bridge saw Cesc Fabregas warming the bench. Fabregas then signed for Monaco last month and Chelsea could not find a replacement for the Spaniard. Jorginho has made 30 appearances for Chelsea this season so far, scoring a goal in their Premier League opener against Huddersfield Town.
Jorginho is familiar with Sarri’s playing style more than anyone but the Italy international has received lot of criticism lately with many calling for his exclusion from the playing XI.
Talking about Chelsea’s midfield, Sarri said, “I don’t know [if we will suffer for not signing a midfielder] but I have to try with our own players. So, I think Kovacic could be a very good option. A very good option, then we need to recover completely Loftus-Cheek, after his back problem.
Then, we can play sometimes with Kovacic as a central midfielder and then Jorginho will be able to rest. We are trying in training with two players; the first is Ampadu and the second is Kovacic. It may be that for the characteristics, Kovacic is more suitable for this team.
As you know, Ampadu is more defensive. Kovacic is really close to Jorginho in moving the ball really fast at one-touch. In the future, I think he will be able to do this position well.”
