Our No.5 played a key role alongside N’Golo Kante as Chelsea defeated Manchester City in the Champions League final in Porto in May, before following that up with a pivotal contribution as Italy won Euro 2020 at the expense of England.

After returning to pre-season training with Chelsea later than planned due to his European exertions, the midfielder was among the silverware yet again as the Blues defeated Villarreal to lift the Super Cup in Belfast.

His importance to both club and country is something that isn’t lost on Thomas Tuchel, who has highlighted the need for Jorginho in our midfield and what attributes impress him most as we prepare for this afternoon’s London derby against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

‘Jorgi is a very strategic player,’ our head coach said of our Italian midfielder. ‘He knows what to do in possession, he can imagine what is going to happen one or two passes ahead and he knows where to help out in short distances and longer distances.

‘He knows when to switch the play and not to switch the play. He has a good sense of rhythm. He organises the environment around him and that allows him to show his true abilities in controlling the rhythm of a game.

‘As well as this, he is relentless in defence. He wants to help everywhere on the pitch. He has a huge ability to run a lot for the team. Maybe he lacks the high speeds, but he compensates with a lot of work-rate and anticipation in his defensive work.

‘On top of that, he is a top guy. He is funny, he has a big smile on his face every single day, you can have chats with him and laugh every single day. He is up for a laugh. He is in love with his game, and this is the feeling he transports from the first minute. He never stops transmitting this energy.’

Our head coach has also offered an insight into why he was happy to keep the Italian pass-master as our vice-captain, with the boss explaining that Jorginho is a player that loves to be involved with any tactical discussions that take place.

‘He is really into the game,’ added Tuchel. ‘Jorgi is always thinking about tactics, he loves to be involved in that aspect, and I feel his true love for the game.

‘That makes him a very important player, and a huge link in the middle of the pitch, not only for us, but for Italy.

‘It’s great people understand the importance of these characters, and what they do. Sometimes they don’t shine, but they make other people shine, and this is so important.’