Premier League 2019/20: 5 players who have exceeded expectations

#5 Jorginho

Jorginho has gone from villain to hero in the eyes of Chelsea fans this season

When people talk about Frank Lampard’s Chelsea revolution, the main focus tends to be on his use of academy products, and there’s no doubt that Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have been tremendous thus far this season.

But the man who’s exceeded expectations most at Stamford Bridge might well be one of last season’s big signings – Italian midfielder Jorginho.

Jorginho became a figure of mistrust in 2018/19; signed by Maurizio Sarri as the embodiment of his ‘Sarri-ball’ system, the Italian’s metronomic passing never seemed to really lead anywhere, and the general consensus was that the outstanding N’Golo Kante was being played out of position in order to accommodate him.

This season though, that’s all changed. Jorginho has kept his renowned passing style – he completes 78.6 passes per game on average with an 88.4% success rate – but he’s become much more of an attacking outlet, completing 12 key passes in his 11 appearances and producing two assists – including the likely pass of the season for Tammy Abraham’s goal against Watford.

Under Lampard, Jorginho appears to be unchained; he runs more, contributes to more attacks and has embraced his role as a senior player by becoming a true leader, all without losing the style that made him an attractive buy in the first place. Nobody has turned the views of their own fans around this season quite so much as the Italian.