Jamie Gittens to Chelsea confirmed by Dortmund, as Blues praised for not signing elite striker

James Holland 03 Jul 2025 10:35 PM

Jamie Gittens will join Chelsea from Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have announced that Jamie Gittens is ‘on the verge’ of joining Chelsea, while Enzo Maresca’s side have surprisingly been praised for signing Liam Delap over a world-renowned centre-forward.

Chelsea were always going to sign a new left winger this summer, having decided to send Jadon Sancho back to Manchester United. There is also uncertainty over Mykhailo Mudryk’s future, as he has been provisionally banned for failing a drugs test and is still awaiting the result of his B sample.

Chelsea had initially been hoping to snare Nico Williams from Athletic Club. But after he signalled a desire to join Barcelona, the Blues pivoted towards Gittens.

TEAMtalk revealed on June 4 that Chelsea were aiming to sign Gittens before the start of the Club World Cup.

That ultimately did not happen as Dortmund’s tough selling stance held up negotiations.

Gittens went on to play for Dortmund at the Club World Cup, though he is now poised to become Chelsea’s latest signing.

BVB have released the following club statement: ‘Borussia Dortmund’s offensive player Jamie Gittens (20) is on the verge of a transfer to the English Premier League club Chelsea FC. All parties involved agreed in principle on this today, Thursday, in Fort Lauderdale (USA). The contractual details are still being finalised.’

Dortmund CEO Lars Ricken said: “Jamie Gittens’ career exemplifies the development of top talents at BVB. We discovered him very early, signed him almost at no cost, continuously developed him in our youth academy, and provided him with playing time at the highest professional level.

“Jamie has repaid that trust with dedication, performance, and goals. His transfer back to his home country would be highly valuable for us. We wish Jamie all the best for his sporting future.”

Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl added: “The negotiations with Chelsea were challenging, but in the end, we are glad that we can most likely realise our expectations and gain planning security.

“Jamie is an excellent player who has brought us great joy. It was his wish to take the next step in his career at Chelsea, and we wish him all the very best and much success.”

Chelsea started the bidding for Gittens at £42m (€49m / $57m), but this was rejected by Dortmund. TEAMtalk revealed on June 26 that Chelsea were getting closer to striking an agreement for the England U21 star, and that happened two days later.

The Europa Conference League winners are due to pay Dortmund £55m (€64m / $75m) for Gittens.

After learning of Chelsea’s interest, Gittens quickly agreed a seven-year contract with the Blues. He is eager to return to England and prove he can shine in the Premier League, having previously been in the Reading, Chelsea and Man City academies.

Chelsea could sign another left winger after Gittens and are in talks with both Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho and Lyon’s Malick Fofana.

Chelsea right not to sign Victor Osimhen – Hasselbaink

Chelsea were heavily linked with Victor Osimhen before they brought in Delap and Joao Pedro from Ipswich Town and Brighton respectively.

Osimhen would be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge as Didier Drogba is his idol.

But during an appearance on John Obi Mikel’s The Obi One podcast, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink cast doubt over whether Osimhen would have succeeded at Chelsea.

“I know he’s your countryman but I’m not convinced of Osimhen for the Premier League,” he said.

“For Spain, for Italy – yes. For the Premier League? I’m not 100 per cent sure.”

Hasselbaink continued: “I really like Jackson. Why? Because he brings a lot of energy to the team and people don’t see that.

“The pressing from the front, the work-rate – all that kind of stuff is so important for a successful team.

“Then he gets lots of chances. He needs to get better at finishing, but I’d rather have a striker who gets lots of chances than a striker who doesn’t get chances.

“So first of all, he is getting chances, now we can work on his finishing and calmness and make him understand.

“Let’s not forget before Villareal, he was playing nowhere. So he started at Villareal, and now he’s here and he’s still very young. So you can still improve him.”