Former Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola is delighted seeing Jorginho prove his critics wrong.

Zola, voted the club's best-ever player by the fans, spent a year in the dugout trying to convince the punters that Jorginho was worth his place in the team — one he has kept ever since.

In Zola's 12-month spell Chelsea finished third in the league, won the Europa League and lost only on penalties to champions Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

The Italian legend told The Sun: “Maybe the fans just like to see someone who is always flying into tackles, winning the ball back or is knocking players over all the time. He is always questioned. When something goes wrong and Jorgo makes a mistake, it is always picked up straight away.

“But it is no coincidence that the owner of Manchester City wanted to buy him. I don't know how close they got but he decided to come to us.

“It's not like he wasn't being noticed by other clubs.

“If you are a team that wants to be organised, a passing team, then Jorgo is the man.

“He is always in the right place supporting defenders and the other midfielders when they have the ball. He is always available when the ball is becoming hot.

“This is a player who never hides. And just look, he played under Sarri but he then played under Frank Lampard and now he is becoming an important player for Thomas Tuchel.

“The fans have to understand that he is perfect for a manager.

“Jorgo is not only an important player to have control of the ball but he has also been the skipper many times.

“They gave him responsibility, which means they value him as a player but also as a character.

“You can rely on him all the time. A lot of players under pressure don't want the ball — but Jorgo is not one of them.

“When you have a player who doesn't hide when you need to control a game under pressure, you value him a lot. Maybe at times people don't see this."