Chelsea’s prolonged effort to sign Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund was finally rewarded on Saturday as they sealed the England Under-21 winger’s arrival for an initial fee of £48. 5m.
The 20-year-old Englishman had agreed a seven-year contract with Chelsea in June.
The arrival of Gittens is good news for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who has had on-loan Jadon Sancho return to Manchester United this summer and made no secret of the fact a transfer priority for him was to sign a winger.
The Italian has been keen to add competition for Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto and Tyrique George.
Gittens remained the club’s first-choice target this transfer window despite the Blues exploring other potential moves after initial bids for him failed before the start of the Club World Cup.
The 20-year-old joins an already well-stocked attacking line-up including Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Marc Guiu – who generally play centrally – as well as wingers Neto, Madueke and George.
“It might feel as though Chelsea are almost doing deals just for the sake of it, but there is a specific plan,” said BBC Sport football news reporter Nizaar Kinsella.
“Gittens will come in as a left winger and replace Jadon Sancho after his loan spell from Manchester United was not made permanent. It’s also worth noting Mykhailo Mudryk remains provisionally suspended for a failed drugs test. “
Gittens is another exciting youth prospect that Borussia Dortmund have nurtured into a star player.
Dortmund confirmed a deal had been agreed with Chelsea on Thursday and he becomes the latest signing for the Blues with strong Manchester City links – joining the likes of Delap, Palmer and manager Maresca at Stamford Bridge.
“He can become the next [Jadon] Sancho, Erling Haaland or [Jude] Bellingham,” former Dortmund striker Karl-Heinz Riedle said in November.
