Jorginho lifts the lid on superstitious Maurizio Sarri | OneFootball

Jorginho and Sarri both moved to Stamford Bridge from Napoli this summer, and both player and coach have adapted impressively quickly to Premier League football.

And the midfielder has revealed that as well as being a heavy smoker, his boss is a very superstitious character.

“We could talk about his superstitions for days,” Jorginho told The Times.

“As an example Sarri refuses to touch the ball if it is next to the pitch. There’s nothing you can do, he never gives it back to us. Maybe because he does not like the ball to go out.”

Jorginho came very close to joining Manchester City in the summer before he ended up at Chelsea, but he seems glad to have gone with Sarri to west London after the pair formed a close bond during their time in Naples.

“He’s got a great story and it’s good he has stayed the same and stayed true to himself,” he added.

“He’s a very straightforward kind of guy, he likes the simple things. It is important for a person, be it in professional or personal circumstances, to be true to yourself.

“His style of play and the way he works is very offensive, out on the pitch we play very attacking and it’s all about organisation as well so once we get out onto the pitch everyone knows what they are doing and it is easier for everyone.

“He talks to you about all the different options and possible situations out there and it helps you a lot when you arrive on the pitch.”

In fact, Jorginho is so close to his manager that he has been nicknamed “Sarri’s son” in the Chelsea dressing room. The Brazil-born midfielder denies he is the teacher’s pet, however.

“In football being a teacher’s pet doesn’t really come into it and there’s a lot about our relationship that people don’t know so pet does not come into it,” he said.

The Italian international recently broke a Premier League record after completing a whopping 180 passes in a draw against West Ham and the 26-year-old says he’s quickly become a big fan of English football.

“Everything about English football, the history, the stadiums, the fact all the teams give everything until the very last minute and nobody gives up.”