According to the midfielder’s quotes in the Metro yesterday, Jorginho was very much aware of the criticism from Chelsea fans at times last season, and the pressure almost drove him away from the club.
In some personal revelations, the former Napoli man revealed how down he had been after the fans turned on him in a dark moment after his move to the club with manager Maurizio Sarri
“Last year, fans were picking on me a lot because I’d arrived with another manager and, in my opinion, I ended up hearing some things that were honestly unfair,” the Italy international explained.
“But I’ve never challenged the views of the fans and other people who criticised me. Quite the opposite, actually – it gave me strength because inside I knew they were wrong,” he continued.
Ultimately, he says it motivated him, and it’s certainly true that he bounced back from the true depths of his form in the darkest days of last season.
But he had plenty of off days under Frank Lampard too, and there while there is no longer open dissent from the fans, there is a feeling that the team would be improved by aiming to replace him with a more ambitious player. Let’s hope he can prove us wrong again.