Chelsea make Jamie Gittens transfer decision amid £50m talks for Enzo Maresca priority

Chelsea are preparing a fresh offer to Borussia Dortmund for Jamie Gittens with talks still ongoing over a transfer fee, football.london understands.

A verbal agreement between the Blues and the 20-year-old is already in place with Gittens understood to be very keen on a switch to Stamford Bridge this summer. The west London club had a £42million offer turned down by Dortmund last week, with the Bundesliga giants holding out for closer to the £50million-mark.

Chelsea see the left winger position as a priority in the transfer market with teenager Tyrique George the only natural option for Enzo Maresca at the moment. Mykhailo Mudryk is still suspended from football following a failed drugs test in December, while Jadon Sancho departed earlier in the month.

Maresca, speaking on Sunday evening before Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup opener against Los Angeles FC, made no secret of the club’s plans to add a left-sided attacker to their squad this summer. “Jadon is not with us so for sure that is a position we need to do something.

“We have Noni [Madueke], Pedro [Neto] and Ty [George] only as the proper wingers. So, for sure, something is going to happen.”

Even if Gittens is signed while Chelsea are still in the Club World Cup, he is cup-tied and will be ineligible to feature for the Blues. FIFA rules state that as soon as a player is named in the provisional squad for a club in the competition, then he cannot feature for another side.

Gittens was brought on in the 77th minute for the Black and Yellow as they were held to a goalless draw in their tournament opener against Fluminense on Tuesday at the MetLife Stadium in New York. The Chelsea target is now set to fly to Cincinnati with the rest of the Dortmund squad for their second group match against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.