Cesc Fabregas has revealed that Jorginho was one of the "biggest reasons" he said goodbye to Chelsea in January of 2019.
Fabregas left the Premier League over two years ago now when Maurizio Sarri was in charge at Stamford Bridge to join AS Monaco.
Under Sarri, the Spanish midfielder made just six Premier League appearances, with just one start to his name, with the Italian coach often opting with a three-man midfield, with new signing Jorginho at the heart of it.
Now, over two years on from Fabregas ' departure, the ex-Arsenal and Blues star has been talking about the "very smart" Jorginho.
The Italy midfielder starred in his country's Euro 2020 opener as they dispatched Turkey 3-0 in Rome. Jorginho was quiet, but effective, as he so often is for club and country - something Fabregas mentioned prior to kick-off.
“One of the biggest reasons I left Chelsea is because of him," the former Chelsea man said on BBC One.
"He’s a very smart player, intelligent, a very good passer of the ball. The only thing I can say about him sometimes is he releases the ball too quickly when he can play forward.
"He makes the team tick. At Chelsea, he has N’Golo Kante protecting him all the time, and I know that’s a big thing, I don’t know here how he will cope at a big, big game at the Euros.
"He’s a really good player and tactically, he knows what to do because of the coach’s methodology, it helps him a lot.”
His fellow pundit, Rio Ferdinand, echoed Fabregas' thoughts on Jorginho, and also spoke about how international football suits the 29-year-old's style of play more than it does at club level.
Ferdinand said: “That’s where he’s helped in this team, Kante helps him at Chelsea but he’s helped more tactically here in terms of the shape, in terms of big spaces protecting the centre-backs - I think he needs that as well in a team like this with slow centre-backs.”
Italy were brilliant in their Euros opener in front of a reduced capacity at the Stadio Olimpico.
Merih Demiral's unfortunate own goal handed Roberto Mancini's side a second-half lead after a dominant opening period.
Ciro Immobile then doubled Italy's tally, before Lorenzo Insigne capped off a great night's work for gli Azzurri.
Jorginho was a key part in the win as Italy's passing caught the eye on Friday evening.
