Everything you need to know about Chelsea’s new No. 1 Filip Jorgensen
Chelsea are said to be on the cusp of signing Denmark youth international Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal.
The Athletic report that Chelsea have made an approach to sign the 22-year-old goalkeeper as they aim to nail down their next No.1 between the sticks. The Blues already have Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic, Marcus Bettinelli and Lucas Bergstrom, plus returning loanee Kepa Arrizabalga, yet there remains a sense the position is up for grabs.
We’ve identified everything you need to know about Jorgensen.
The story so far
Jorgensen was born in 2002 in the small Swedish town of Lomma to a Danish father and Swedish mother.
The ‘keeper represented Sweden at Under-16 and Under-17 levels before making the switch to represent Denmark at Under-21. He’s yet to make his senior international debut but has already been talked up as Kasper Schmeichel’s long-term successor.
As a youngster, he moved between the youth ranks of clubs in his native Sweden (GIF Nike, two stints with Malmo) and Spain (Santa Catalina, Mallorca), eventually settling at Villarreal as a 15-year-old in 2017.
After rising through the ranks, Jorgensen was given his senior Villarreal debut by Unai Emery in December 2021. He went on to spend the following 18 months flitting between the club’s B team in the lower reaches of the Spanish football pyramid alongside the fringes of their first team.
Following the departure of Geronimo Rulli to Ajax and Pepe Reina advancing into his forties, Jorgensen was given the nod and enjoyed a major breakthrough last season.
The 22-year-old started 36 of Villarreal’s 38 league outings last season, and while their defensive record was on the sketchy side – 65 goals conceded and just six clean sheets – Jorgensen received rave reviews for his performances, having made the most saves of any goalkeeper in La Liga.
Following a solid campaign with the Yellow Submarine, he signed an extended five-year contract, making reports of an imminent departure something of a surprise.
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Goalkeeping style
It’s increasingly common for modern-day goalkeepers to be talked up for their ability to play out from the back, with top clubs seemingly intent on securing the next Alisson or Ederson.
But the immediately striking thing about Jorgensen is decidedly old school, with his shot-stopping ability his most eye-catching quality. He made 205 saves last term, 37 more than any other La Liga goalkeeper and was among Villarreal’s standout players as they recovered from a slow start to finish a respectable eighth.
That’s not to say that Jorgensen is a throwback, unable to deliver what’s necessary from a goalkeeper in 2024. He’s calm with the ball at his feet and always willing to receive it.
He ranked 40th for ‘keepers across Europe’s five major leagues last season for defensive actions outside the penalty area, just behind Manchester United’s Andre Onana. He also ranked 26th for pass completion and 34th for shortest average length of passes.
Jorgensen also has plenty of experience at dealing with crosses, given Marcelino’s Villarreal were keen to funnel teams out wide last season.
The Dane faced 650 crosses into his penalty area in 2023-24, 49 more than any other ‘keeper in Europe’s major leagues. He claimed 34 of them directly himself with a mid-ranking success rate of a 5.2% stoppage rate.
For context, Arsenal’s David Raya successfully claimed 12.2% (40 of 329) crosses into his penalty area last term.
21 year old Filip Jorgensen has been a revelation for Villarreal this season. 🧤🇩🇰pic.twitter.com/bG0jFq4gu2
— LaLigaExtra (@LaLigaExtra) March 29, 2024
What’s been said
“He is only 22 and will only grow with time. Much like Jackson, he has a lot of talent but needs to grow into his role. He will make mistakes, especially in at the age, and he needs the full support of the club and the fans,” Villarreal Fan TV told X user @VdykCFC.
“He is still very much a green goalkeeper, but has the talent to become a good goalkeeper as long as he gets full support by the manager, the supporters and the club.
“He needs a healthy environment where he can develop, however, Chelsea is a big club and a lot will be expected of him”
“We’ll see, we’ll see. In this moment we have four goalkeepers. We will see with the timing,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said following Chelsea’s 2-2 friendly draw with Wrexham.
“When the transfer window is open, anything can happen – for us and for the rest.
“For sure, the way we want to play, the goalkeeper is very, very important – one of the main positions. And I don’t want to talk about players that are not Chelsea players but I am very happy with Robert [Sanchez].”