Chelsea signing CRITICISED for surprise summer move

Cameron Smith

• 13 Sept 2024 20:00 BST
• 3 min read

Villarreal CEO Fernando Roig Negueroles believes Filip Jorgensen rushed his move to Chelsea this summer.

The Denmark U21 international joined the Blues for €24.5 million in July, but he has been criticised for leaving Villarreal too soon.

Jorgensen spent nine years with the Spanish club and he established himself as their number one goalkeeper last season. However, he opted to leave after being approached by Chelsea.

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Despite Jorgensen’s arrival, Robert Sanchez remains the Blues’ number one goalkeeper, with the ex-Villarreal shot-stopper unable to break into Chelsea’s starting XI in the Premier League thus far.

Furthermore, while the west London club reportedly view him as a future star, they have also signed Mike Penders from Genk, suggesting Chelsea aren’t convinced that Jorgensen is the long-term solution to their goalkeeper headache.

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What has been said?

Roig Negueroles spoke to AS about Villarreal’s summer business and expressed his opinion on Jorgensen’s exit.

“The truth is that we didn’t want to sell either Alex [Sorloth] or Filip [Jorgensen],” he said. We knew that we had to make a sale, but we didn’t foresee those.

“In the end it happened because both players wanted to leave and the offers were attractive enough to accept.

“In both cases we followed the player’s wishes, but we wouldn’t have sold. We knew that we would have to make a sale this summer, but not those two.

“We didn’t expect to sell Jorgensen so soon, especially as soon as this year. We were aware of his enormous potential and we thought he would leave, but not now,” Roig Negueroles continued.

“Honestly, and I have made this clear to him and to those around him, I think Jorgensen was hasty [with his departure]. He had room for improvement and growth here, but the move was the player’s will.

“We didn’t intend to make that sale, but it happened this way because he is a great goalkeeper for the present and the future and with qualities that can make him one of the most important goalkeepers in Europe.

“I don’t regret his departure. These are football situations.”