Mikel Arteta during Arsenal’s win over Fulham (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho is understood to be close to finalising an agreement over a transfer to Flamengo this summer.
Sources close to the situation have informed CaughtOffside that the Gunners are poised to lose Jorginho on a free transfer as he nears the expiry of his contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Final details are now being sorted for Jorginho to join Flamengo, with the experienced Italy international rejecting offers in Europe in order to move to Brazil.
Arsenal did not hold talks over a new contract for Jorginho, with the north London giants expected to replace him with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi.
Zubimendi’s move to Arsenal is advanced and there aren’t expected to be any issues finalising that deal for the summer, so that leaves little room for Jorginho to continue at the club.
Jorginho transfer close to going through
Jorginho is now expected to complete everything with Flamengo imminently, with the 33-year-old expected to sign a contract until December 2027.
Arsenal fans may well be disappointed to see Jorginho leaving, but he’s done well in his relatively short time with the club.
It never looked like Jorginho was going to be a particularly long-term addition for Arsenal when he joined from Chelsea in January 2023, but he’s done a good job in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Losing experienced professionals like this is perhaps not ideal, but Arsenal have decent depth in midfield, especially if Zubimendi joins, and Jorginho probably doesn’t have that long left playing regularly at such a high level.
The former Chelsea and Napoli man can look back at a great career in Europe, and will now hope to extend his playing days by moving to a slightly lower level in Brazil.
Nothing is set to be made official just yet, but a deal looks close for Jorginho to join Flamengo once his Arsenal contract comes to an end.
