Chelsea winger target ‘expected’ to move as two huge reasons for transfer emerge

Chelsea have been given a lift in their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund ace Jamie Gittens with the price they will likely need to pay coming to light, though Enzo Maresca will have to cope without striker Nicolas Jackson in the coming weeks.

Chelsea are among several major clubs eyeing Gittens, who is the latest English talent to shine at Dortmund. The winger left Manchester City’s academy for a new adventure in Germany in September 2020 and has not looked back since.

The left-sided attacker has established himself as a key player for Dortmund this term and has managed 11 goals and five assists in 32 appearances so far.

Gittens‘ brilliant displays have caught the attention of clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich.

German outlet Bild have now provided an update on the England U21 international’s future. They state that Dortmund ‘expect’ to sell Gittens this summer as they know he wants to take the next step in his exciting career.

While BVB are reluctant to lose Gittens, they feel they can make a huge profit when selling him. The German giants only paid City a compensation fee of €90,000, while his price tag has now been set at between €80-100m (up to £83.5m / $104.2m).

Dortmund are also at increasing risk of having to sell a star player due to them potentially missing out on Champions League qualification. They sit 11th in the Bundesliga, seven points off the top four.

No UCL football next season would harm Dortmund’s finances and they would resultantly have to sell a top player to balance the books, with Gittens, Karim Adeyemi and Gregor Kobel all potential options.

While Chelsea will face competition for Gittens, particularly from the likes of Liverpool and Spurs, it would not be a surprise if the Blues pushed hard to win the race for his services.

Chelsea need a new left winger to provide to provide competition for Jadon Sancho amid uncertainty surrounding Mykhailo Mudryk’s future. The Ukraine star has been provisionally banned after failing a drugs test and is awaiting the result of his B sample.

Chelsea have shown their desire to sign the best young players around and Gittens certainly fits into that bracket, with a senior England call-up surely not too far off.

Nicolas Jackson out for six weeks

While the electric 20-year-old could soon arrive at Stamford Bridge, centre-forward Jackson is facing a frustrating spell on the sidelines.

Jackson is expected to be out for six weeks while he recovers from a hamstring injury sustained in the 2-1 win over West Ham United on February 3.

Maresca initially said it was not a ‘big injury’ for the Senegal international, but scans have since shown that the problem is more serious.

BBC Sport state that Jackson is unlikely to return to action until after the international break at the end of March.

Maresca might have to rely on Christopher Nkunku up front as Jackson’s backup Marc Guiu is also out injured.

Guiu replaced Jackson in the West Ham game, only to pick up a groin injury himself.

Maresca has since admitted that the 19-year-old will be out with a ‘long injury’, potentially for ‘weeks or months’.

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Chelsea transfers: Sancho thoughts emerge; Atletico Madrid claim

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has stated that Chelsea are ‘very happy’ with the signing of Sancho despite the criticism he has faced recently.

Romano also confirmed that Chelsea will pay between £22-25m for the Englishman upon the end of his loan spell.

Gittens is not the only player Chelsea could sign from Europe in the summer, as they have also been linked with Pablo Barrios of Atletico Madrid.

Reports in the Spanish media claim the Blues are readying a huge €70m (£58.3m / $72.3m) offer to try and snare the midfielder.

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