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Cape Town - Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis claims that Chelsea are leading the race to sign Jorginho, despite accepting an offer from Manchester City.
The 26-year-old midfielder had been a priority target for City manager Pep Guardiola and appeared to be closing in on a move to the Etihad Stadium after a fee was agreed between the two clubs.
But the Blues have emerged as contenders for his signature, with De Laurentiis revealing that Jorginho has requested to be transferred to Stamford Bridge instead.
There is also a strong possibility that the Italy international could reunited with former Azzurri manager Maurizio Sarri, who is widely expected to replace Antonio Conte once his contract wrangle with Naples outfit is resolved.
"We said to ourselves if Jorginho has any requests, we'll take them into account," De Laurentiis told a press conference at the unveiling of Carlo Ancelotti as the club's new head coach.
"I accepted Manchester City's offer 15 days ago, but I have to apologise to them. I can understand if the player prefers to live in London than in Manchester, and if Chelsea pay him more I can understand that too.
"Jorginho to Chelsea is not tied to Sarri."
The 69-year-old believes the Sarri saga is nearing a conclusion, adding: "His case is at the finish line, it depends on him.
"We'll see what happens in the next hours. My lawyers have submitted the text to his lawyers."
