Here are two 20-year-old right-footed left wingers. Chelsea are interested in both. You can see why.
There is plenty of talent with five goals and four league assists for one last season. The other, who is eight months older, got eight goals and three assists.
They are both highly-rated and highly valued. At £42million (at least) Chelsea will have to pay more than they did to sign Noni Madueke, who was arguably more advanced than both in January 2023 when he was signed.
Their underlying numbers are relatively similar as well. The less prolific scorer actually had 0.2 xG more than the other, with 3.8, despite getting three fewer in reality. That player also had more xA (expected assists). Despite playing 200 league minutes more, the player with more goals and assists is worse off per90.
There isn't a massive difference, though. The numbers are broadly comparable, pretty close. It's easy to see why Chelsea are looking at them both, either as alternatives to each other or possibly as competition in a position which is lacking any sort of depth.
Whether either player, who can be described as 'projects' and 'not the finished article' are good or enough right now is a different question. Should Chelsea, off the back of qualifying for the Champions League, be targeting players who are ready-made to plug and play, especially in a role without a clear and natural first choice?
The names being hidden, simply for comparative purposes, are Jamie Gittens and Malick Fofana. Gittens is the one with more goals, more minutes, a bigger xG overperformance, but weaker underlying metrics.
Fofana, on the other hand, is the younger of the two. He is just as comfortable dribbling as Gittens but has a better xG per shot and appears to take better attempts.
It is easy to understand why the two, along with Alejandro Garnacho, are among the top options for Chelsea this window. They all fit the role of wide men who are take on their men, like to shoot, and are still developing.
They profile similarly enough to Noni Madueke, who has been playing the left-wing role in recent months and will be left to do so until a new player arrives. He is not as comfortable there as on the right, but Pedro Neto has made that spot his own in the eyes of Enzo Maresca.
Gittens, it seems, is the priority. Chelsea have made two bids for him whereas they are only in the early stages of talking to Fofana. It is not yet clear if both players could be signed in the same window. That would raise questions of how they compete in the short and long-term, add value to Maresca's squad, and what happens next for Tyrique George.
Given the similarity in prices at the moment - Chelsea do not want to stretch to Borussia Dortmund's £50million demand for Gittens but have already raised an initial £29million offer to £42million when under pressure before the Club World Cup - it can be viewed as a toss-up between them.
Gittens might be more established currently but Fofana is potentially cheaper and is showing signs of better decision making in the final third. At their age, these things can be ironed out and there is a lot to play with.
Enzo Maresca will back himself to be able to improve whoever comes onboard. To get more time on the field with them, Fofana may well have an advantage here.
Not only did Chelsea fail to sign Gittens before the Club World Cup - which started last week with a June 10 mini transfer window deadline for players to be registered ahead of the group stages - but he was also then included in Dortmund's squad for the tournament. FIFA rules state that any player named in a final squad is then tied to that team for the rest of the competition.
Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund in action
Chelsea transfer target Jamie Gittens plays for Borussia Dortmund at the FIFA Club World Cup (Image: Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)
That throws a spanner in the works for Chelsea, who can add new players after the group stage and before the knockout stage in a second registration window. They will have a week to confirm changes to their squad between June 27 and July 3. Had Dortmund not selected Gittens, who came on as a second-half substitute in their 0-0 draw Fluminense on Tuesday, Chelsea could have negotiated a deal and had him on their books for the next round.
It is expected Chelsea will get through to the last-16 and a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC (LAFC) in the opening match only strengthens that. They face Flamengo on Friday in what is likely to be their toughest test of the group. The Brazilian side won 2-0 themselves against ES Tunis in the first game.
If Chelsea sign Gittens during the Club World Cup, and football.london understands another offer will go in for the former Manchester City academy attacker, then he will have to deal with only training over the next few weeks, rather than any game time. It would allow him to integrate with his new teammates but not get any active practice in.
That could make Fofana a more appealing prospect. He has no such restrictions and would be free to play for Chelsea in the Club World Cup from the knockouts and beyond if a transfer was completed in time.
With two deals worth a combined potential £92million at stake, these are the sorts of decisions which must be considered. Chelsea are keeping their options open with both Fofana would not have to wait to make his debut whereas Gittens would.
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