Chelsea are nearing a £55.5 million move for highly regarded Borussia Dortmund wide forward Jamie Gittens as the Blues agree on a transfer fee with the German giants to bring the England U21 international back to England.
The talks between both the clubs have been ongoing offshore in the United States, given both the clubs are part of the Club World Cup, and while Dortmund’s arch-rivals Bayern Munich were also interested in landing his signatures, by the looks of it, a deal has now been agreed for the 20-year-old to move to Stamford Bridge on a seven-year deal as we get the infamous ‘here we go’ from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
Romano’s Here We Go tweet for Jamie Gittens to Chelsea
The West Londoners needed to bring in a new left-sided attacking player after the chiefs at the Bridge decided not to take up the buying option to sign Jadon Sancho on a permanent transfer.
And now we go into the medical phase of the transfer. That being said, should the move to Chelsea be concluded before the end of the ongoing Club World Cup, Gittens still cannot be allowed to play for Enzo Maresca’s Blues, given that, as per the rules by FIFA, any player cannot play for two teams during one tournament, with the Reading-born ace appearing for his current employers in the first group game against Fluminense.
But as we near the transfer, this one looks like one of those strategic moves that end up playing precisely with the attacking philosophy that has been deployed at Chelsea under former Foxes boss, and I will try to put my feet into pondering how Gittens’ skillset aligns with the current tactical blueprint at Chelsea.
A brief about Jamie Gittens and the attributes that he brings to the table
Enzo would like someone like Jamie Gittens in his roster.
When I think about the 20-year-old, the first thing that comes to my mind is his pace & acceleration, given how he is tailor-made for playing through rapid counter-attacking sequences and catching opponents off guard in transitional situations. Gittens can end up being an integral figure in Maresca’s defence-to-attack switching philosophy that we see every now and then. And this also translates into his wing play, particularly in 1v1 situations where the 2004-born wide forward can easily beat his marker. This shows how he can easily beat his marker in isolation and drive forward with momentum.
Another thing with him is that you’d see him accepting his role as a touchline winger, where he takes on the role of being an outlet whilst hugging the touchline and stretching the defences (a skillset that the Blues don’t have in the roster at the moment). He is also quite comfortable when it comes to driving with the ball at full-backs or cutting inside depending on sequences (and this ends up giving Chelsea a sense of tactical flexibility and unpredictability in wide areas).
And then he put through all those skills in end contributions, given how he netted 12 goals complemented by a further tally of 5 assists in 48 outings last season.
How does Jamie Gittens bring a sense of tactical flexibility at Stamford Bridge?
If I am speaking about Maresca’s setup, having a wide focal point, the 20-year-old can receive the ball under pressure and initiate breakouts (this will end up making the Blues record on transitional situations much better given how it will bring a sense of control in transitions).
And given how he is quite able to invert into half-spaces as well as stay out wide, depending on the game plan, it gives Enzo that sense of tactical flexibility.
Playing Jamie Gittens against low blocks, he can invert into the half-space to link up intelligently with the #10, and this way he can bring some sense of more fluidity to the possession play. And when talking about him on the pressing side of things, Gittens is really good at initiating high pressing to force turnovers before quickly releasing down the flank to capitalise on disorganised opponents.
Weaknesses
I think most Bundesliga viewers would agree when I say that Gittens needs to be more consistent given how he hasn’t played a season showcasing his high performances for 38-48 games across the seasons. Maybe the head coach ends up rotating him to keep the side at optimum when there is a string of difficult performances.
And while his dribbling in half spaces is not that effective when opponents have deployed a mid-block, as we saw many times last season, this is something he needs to work on as well.
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Author Opinion
Jamie Gittens is worth the hype and beyond, given that he gives you a rare combination of top-level pace complemented by his turnover-forcing strength in the final third. And he also brings that end-product class and blends ideally into Enzo Maresca’s attacking-minded transition-based ethos, and whether it is intercepting the offside trap, pinching defences out wide, or delivering canny goal threats, he gives you those dynamic attacking options. I am excited for this one.