Chelsea have reportedly failed with a second offer to sign Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens.
Ahead of participating at the newly-expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States later this month, the Blues are pushing hard to bolster their squad before the 7.00pm deadline on Tuesday.
Striker Liam Delap has already completed a £30m switch to Stamford Bridge from Ipswich Town, and Enzo Maresca’s side are now targeting a new wide forward after opting against signing Jadon Sancho on a permanent deal from Manchester United.
Chelsea have also been keen to bring in a new goalkeeper, but a deal to sign AC Milan’s Mike Maignan has**fallen through**and their focus has now shifted to signing Gittens.
After seeing an opening offer of €35m (£29.6m) for the England Under-21 international rejected by Dortmund, Chelsea have since submitted a fresh bid worth €50m (£42m), according to Sky Deutschland reporter Florian Plettenberg.
However, Plettenberg adds that Dortmund have turned down the Premier League side’s latest offer and they are now demanding €65m (£55m) to let Gittens leave.
Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens on January 17, 2025
Chelsea facing race against time to finalise Gittens deal
Negotiations are still ongoing with just hours remaining before the first summer transfer window closes, with Gittens keen to make the move to Chelsea and play for them at the Club World Cup instead of Dortmund.
Should Dortmund decide to sell Gittens, Manchester City will be due 10% of the fee after inserting a sell-on clause in the player's deal when he left the Etihad Stadium in 2020.
The 20-year-old spent time in the academies of Reading, Chelsea and Man City before following in the footsteps of English talents including Sancho and Jude Bellingham by moving to Dortmund in 2020.
Gittens has since made a total of 106 first-team appearances for BVB across all tournaments, scoring 12 goals and providing five assists in 48 matches last season.
Dortmund's No.43 scored four of those goals in the Champions League, with his strike in a 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid seeing him became the youngest English player to ever score against Los Blancos in the competition.
Gittens suffered a dip in form during the second half of last season and was reduced to only three starts in Dortmund's final 12 Bundesliga games.
Nevertheless, that has not deterred interest from some of Europe’s top clubs including Chelsea, who appear to be ahead of teams including London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the winger’s signature.
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