Jamie Gittens has been backed to get his head down and focus on the Club World Cup after a Dortmund chief admitted they had already had conversations about the player’s future following interest from Chelsea.
The English winger, who moved to Dortmund in 2020, has been heavily linked with Chelsea this summer as Enzo Maresca looks to strengthen his side but as of yet, no breakthrough has been made on negotiations.
Chelsea were first interested in Gittens in the summer, who does not naturally fit into head coach Nico Kovac’s 3-5-2 formation, but have been told the German side value the 20-year-old at £50m.
The London club are said to think a price around £30m is more realistic but all talks have been paused as both Chelsea and Dortmund focus on the Club World Cup.
That leaves Gittens waiting to see about his future but Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl has backed the player to focus on the football.
“We’ve had one or two conversations with Jamie in the last few days,” Kehl told Fussball Transfers.
“He’s professional enough to know he has to perform. That’s also in his nature. Jamie will be important for us in this tournament. And we’ll see what happens after that. But I don’t see him as negative.”
Earlier in the summer, Kehl revealed they had spoken to Chelsea over a possible transfer and said they have a very good relationship with the London club.
“In the end, we didn’t come to an agreement because we have different ideas about the player’s current value,” Kehl said. “But the talks were very, very respectful. We have been in very good dialogue with Chelsea for many years.
“And yet we have a different point of view and are happy that Jamie will now be part of our team at the Club World Cup and are delighted that he is staying. I’m not responsible for the late offer. But of course I still have to deal with it and that’s what we’ve done.
“Let’s see how things develop in the future.”
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Chelsea are also reportedly in the market for Brighton’s Joao Pedro and are looking to beat Newcastle to the Brazilian’s signing.
Fabrizio Romano said the forward was on “Chelsea’s list” as they look to further strengthen their attack options having signed Liam Delap from Ipswich already this summer.
“What I can confirm is Joao Pedro is on Chelsea’s list,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.
“He is highly rated by Chelsea. They see him as an interesting option because he can cover different positions and knows the league. He can be a different option for the squad. For sure, Joao Pedro is a name on their list.”
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