Chelsea left in no doubt over Jorginho plans as agent clears up transfer talks

Joringho is not interested in joining Barcelona on a free transfer at the end of the season and instead wants to sign a contract extension at Chelsea.

The Italian midfielder's current deal is set to expire in June 2023, sparking speculation that he could follow Andreas Christensen's path in joining Barca on a free transfer. Spanish newspaper Sport have reported that Barca and AC Milan are among the clubs keeping an eye on Jorginho.

Barcelona have long-standing financial problems and the opportunity to sign a player of Jorginho's quality without paying a transfer fee is an attractive prospect. However, Jorginho's agent, Joao Santos, says his client is not interested in moving to Catalonia because he has his sights set on securing a new contract in west London.

"I've never met Barcelona director Mateu Alemany," Santos told Relevo. "We want to extend the contract with Chelsea, it is our priority. We are only dealing with the Blues and no other club."

Jorginho joined Chelsea in the summer of 2018 in a £51million transfer from Napoli. He has been hugely successful, helping the Blues win the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup across 205 appearances.

The 30-year-old's unique penalty-taking style has been extremely valuable to Chelsea, who have benefited from 29 goals and nine assists from the Italy international. He retains an important role under Graham Potter as vice-captain and has featured 17 times so far this season.

"I'm very happy at the moment we're all very focused on what we need to do," Jorginho told the club's 5th Stand app recently. "I'm enjoying life here. I'm enjoying working with everyone and I think everybody says the same thing. It's enjoyable to be at Chelsea."

He added: "It's a busy schedule, crazy busy, but this is football. We're going to have a little break in a couple of weeks and it's important we push now to earn more points and head into the break in a positive mindset."

Jorginho is not the only Chelsea player whose current contract is due to expire in the summer, with N'Golo Kante and Thiago Silva in the same position. Chelsea will be keen to avoid a situation like the previous summer in which they lose Christensen and Antonio Rudiger on free transfers after they ran down their deals.

Jorginho reportedly wants a 25 per cent increase on his current salary of £110,000-a-week to stay put at Chelsea. His current wage is well below the club's highest earners, Raheem Sterling, who reportedly earns over £300,000 per week, and fellow summer signing Kalidou Koulibaly, who earns over double what his former Napoli teammate is paid.

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