Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl says Jamie Gittens has been given permission to speak with Chelsea, but a deal has not yet been agreed for the winger.
Chelsea have set out their stall in the first few weeks of the summer transfer window, bringing in Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo and Liam Delap for a combined fee of around £72million.
But determined to make up ground on their Premier League rivals, the Blues are working behind the scenes to further strengthen other areas of Enzo Maresca’s squad.
Joao Pedro is expected sign on the dotted line at Stamford Bridge over the coming days after the Europa Conference League winners saw off competition from Newcastle to wrap up an agreement in the region of £50m for the Brighton forward.
Chelsea have also been in discussions to sign Dortmund attacker Gittens and widespread reports over the weekend suggested the west London giants had finally made a breakthrough in their pursuit of the 20-year-old following two unsuccessful bids.
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It was claimed Gittens was set to undergo a medical with Chelsea before putting pen to paper on a seven-year contract with the Premier League outfit.
Quizzed on rumours that Chelsea had struck a £55m deal for Gittens, BVB chief Kehl told Sky Deutschland: ‘We have given Jamie permission to hold talks with another club, which are still ongoing.
‘There are still things to be clarified. Things are moving, but no decision has been made yet.
‘We were aware that the player has a higher market value than what was on the table two weeks ago.
‘We’ve exuded confidence. In the final analysis, we’ll see if we receive adequate compensation.’
Gittens is understood to have agreed personal terms with Chelsea before Dortmund’s Club World Cup campaign got underway and the youngster has been eager to finalise a switch to Stamford Bridge as quickly as possible.
The England Under-21 international is tied into a contract with Dortmund until June 2028.
Across his four seasons at the Westfalenstadion, Gittens has racked up 17 goals and 14 assists in 107 appearances for BVB’s first-team.
The closest Gittens has come to winning a major trophy at club level came at the end of the 2023/24 campaign when Dortmund suffered defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
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