Both Chelsea FC and Borussia Dortmund have progressed to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup knockout round. Perhaps they’ll face each other in a later round, and if/when they do Jamie Gittens will have to miss out. That’s because the 20-year-old English winger has left BVB camp to finalize his switch to Chelsea, but he’ll remain cup-tied to Dortmund.
Jamie Gittens has signed a seven year deal with a transfer fee worth up to €65 million ($76.1m) according to ESPN.
He is set to undergo his Chelsea medical within the next day or two. He joins Joao Pedro and Liam Delap as new additions in the forward group for Chelsea this summer.
With both clubs being in the U.S. this summer for the CWC, the talks/negotiations were all done stateside. When asked about the transfer speculation, Borussia Dortmund Sporting Director Sebastien Kehl admitted things are moving along, but he also maintained that the deal is not done yet.
Kehl said to Sky Germany:
“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.”
With Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro coming in, Chelsea will obviously have to do some clearing out now as well. Christopher Nkunku has long linked with a move away, and the writing is certainly on the wall for him.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter
