Chelsea are moving closer to signing priority left-winger Jamie Gittens this summer. Talks with Borussia Dortmund have continued in America, football.london understands, with both sides competing at the Club World Cup.
Dortmund confirmed their place in the last-16 with a 1-0 win over Ulsan HD on Wednesday night. Gittens was not even included in Nico Kovac’s squad for the game, having only made one brief 15-minute cameo at the tournament so far.
It is suggested that he has been taken ill and could not play. It comes at a time when his future is headed in one direction, and that is back to England.
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Chelsea had been keen to wrap up a deal for Gittens before the group stage started but could not get it over the line on the mini-June 10 deadline. Two bids were rejected for Gittens on that day which left Chelsea needing to wait until at least June 16 to complete a transfer window.
With less pressure and time demands to get things moving, there has not been a rush from either party to finalise negotiations. With Gittens having already agreed personal terms with Chelsea on a seven-year contract, it appears to be a matter of when, not if this gets done.
Now, with both sides preparing to play in the knockout stages in the next week (Chelsea face Benfica on Saturday and Dortmund play Canadian outfit Monterrey on Wednesday) attention is back on Gittens. He has been a main focus for Chelsea this window after they signed Liam Delap from Ipswich Town.
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was also a target but the move collapsed on prior to the Club World Cup and, at this stage, talks are not expected to reopen. Chelsea also have other attacking options including Alejandro Garnacho, Mohammed Kudus, and Hugo Ekitike.
These players could yet follow Gittens to Stamford Bridge later on in the window. With a logistically challenging pre-season schedule ahead, getting as much business done as early as possible has been Chelsea’s plan all along.
That is easier said than done, though, and with FIFA only allowing a second registration window for clubs to make changes to their squad for the knockout stages, time is now of the essence. When it comes to Gittens, this is not so much an issue.
Because Dortmund named him in their initial squad for the Club World Cup, which could be a maximum of 35 players, he cannot feature for another team in the competition. That means that although Chelsea would like to have him on board as early as can be, he would not be able to play for Enzo Maresca in the knockouts anyway.
Gittens could train with his new teammates in a brief period in America, much like Kendry Paez has been despite not being in the main squad. That would be of benefit to everyone with a condensed pre-season schedule once the tournament concludes.
Chelsea currently have two friendlies on the final weekend ahead of the Premier League season in early August. They will send players away for holiday, rest, and recovery after the Club World Cup.
Players are entitled to three weeks of uninterrupted break, which would back right onto the Stamford Bridge friendlies against Milan and Bayer Leverkusen, leaving very little room for Maresca to work with. At the same time, Gittens would be moving country again and attempting to settle.
Therefore, any marginal advantage Chelsea can get with Gittens now would help everyone to settle ahead of the new season. Unfortunately, he won’t be putting on the blue shirt in a competitive setting for a while longer, regardless.
