Marc Cucurella has reacted with shock to GOAL after being told that Jorginho is set to leave Chelsea today.
The midfielder has almost completed his extraordinary deadline day move to Arsenal, who turned to the Italy international as a late reinforcement.
They had made Brighton’s Moises Caicedo their number one target, looking to beat Chelsea to a deal to sign him this month.
However, their resistance to negotiate has seen both clubs moved on to other targets.
The speed of the news has obviously come as a surprise to some of the Chelsea players too.
When completing an interview for GOAL, Cucurella claimed that the 31-year-old was the smartest player at the club, before being told he has been pictured in an Arsenal shirt.
He said: “The smartest player in the squad is Jorginho, 100%. I would say Jorginho with no club.”
After being told he had been seen in the shirt, he said: “But it’s now? I read it yesterday. No!”
It had been believed that the deal may depend on if Chelsea managed to get a transfer for Enzo Fernandez over the line.
With just hours left in the window, there has so far been no breakthrough in negotiations with Benfica. It remains to be seen whether they can get it over the line by 11pm.
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