He joined Chelsea’s immediate competitor – Thiago Silva discusses Jorginho’s transfer to Arsenal

Thiago Silva, a Chelsea defender, has expressed regret at Jorginho’s choice to leave the club for Arsenal.

Jorginho joined the Premier League leaders for £ 12 million on Transfer Deadline Day.

Silva lauded the Italy midfielder as one of the “great leaders” in the Stamford Bridge dressing room and confessed he had joined “a direct rival”.

“We have lost one of our great leaders in the dressing room, Jorginho, a person who spoke a lot; this void will stay, but we must move on,” he explained. We weren’t expecting him to go, yet it happened. It’s now time to make up for his absence in the best way possible.

“(Jorginho) left for a direct competition and adversary. Things like this happen in football. He wants to stay in England because his family is close. These are things over which we have no influence, but we must also grasp the player’s perspective.”