Jorginho Demands Better Wages at Chelsea: Why Chelsea Need to Prioritise Him Over N’Golo Kante

Jorginho Demands Better Wages at Chelsea: Why Chelsea Need to Prioritise Him Over N’Golo Kante

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:14 PM
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  • Chelsea will soon be entering crucial negotiation talks with two of their key midfielder players whose contracts expire at the end of the season
  • N'Golo Kante has become injury-ravaged recently, with niggling knee and hamstring issues troubling the Frenchman
  • Jorginho's role in the Chelsea squad, meanwhile, remains almost irreplaceable despite his known weaknesses and frailty

Chelsea are staring at the prospect of losing both Jorginho and N'Golo Kante on free transfers at the end of the season. The midfielders have been the cornerstone of Chelsea's recent successes in Europe.

It would be fair to argue that Kante is the better of the two. That's a no-brainer. The World Cup winner remains the best midfielder in his position when fit. His untiring lung-bursting box-to-box runs remain have been the hallmark of his impressive CV.

N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Chelsea, contract negotiation talks
Chelsea midfielders N'Golo Kante and Jorginho in 2020. Photo by Mike Hewitt.
Source: Getty Images

But ahead of Chelsea hierarchy crunch contract talks with both of them, the Evening Standard reports that Chelsea and Jorginho are still in separate worlds on the financial part of the extension.

Should a situation present itself for Chelsea to choose either midfielder, here's why the club needs to go for the Italian, Kante's known records notwithstanding, as Sportskeeda reports.

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1. Leadership qualities

Kante might be a better midfielder, but his leadership qualities are somewhere close to nonexistent. He remains part of Chelsea's current leadership group due to his seniority, but he is rarely seen talking to his teammates, let alone match officials.

For a team that is still in transition, Chelsea direly need Jorginho's outspokenness. He could have been the club's first captain now had Cesar Azpilicueta pushed through with a move to Barcelona.

2. Fitness levels

Kante's recent fitness issues have become a concern for every Chelsea fan. Originally considered a rock, he has become a shadow of his former self, with the 31-year-old struggling to stay away from the nursing table. He is currently out for at least three months with a hamstring issue.

Jorginho, meanwhile, has missed less than five matches cumulatively for over 10 years. Kante's fitness will be a key factor in contract negotiation talks and as it stands, it is working against him.

3. Importance to the squad

Whilst Kante's influence remains unquestionable, his role in the Chelsea squad has been taken up by other players in recent times. Graham Potter has the luxury of Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Matteo Kovacic to deploy in similar roles

Simply put, Kante has substitutes within the squad in as much as he remains the blueprint.

For Jorginho, however, it is only him or no one. His ability to dictate play from deep is yet to be replicated by no other player in the Chelsea squad. Kovacic and Loftus Cheek are different players whose strengths lie in ball retention and surging forward.

Look, it is actually unfathomable that someone could pick Jorginho over Kante. But the devil is usually in the detail. And the devil is pointing us to the one person who came close to winning a Ballon d'Or title in 2021.

Kante set to miss France's World Cup defence

Sports Brief had earlier reported that N'Golo Kante is set to miss the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar after suffering an injury setback in training.

Kante picked up a hamstring injury against Tottenham Hotspur in August. He was set to resume training after six weeks, only to suffer the setback.

the new injury is set to sideline him for more than three months and subsequently out of the World Cup. Chelsea head coach Graham Potter described the situation as a disappointment.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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