Chelsea lining up move for £25m “wonderkid”

Chelsea have enjoyed a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign under new head coach Enzo Maresca, with only two defeats in all competitions so far.

They have only lost once, in the second leg of their Europa Conference League qualifying tie with Servette, since they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season.

The Blues are currently sat in fourth place in the Premier League, with four wins and two draws in seven outings, as they look to compete for a place in the Champions League next term.

Maresca has put any doubts over his ability to manage the club to one side, for now, following his move from Leicester City in the summer, and his work in the transfer market has helped.

Summer signing Jaden Sancho has registered an eye-catching three assists in four Premier League games for Chelsea, since his move to Stamford Bridge on a season-long loan from rivals Manchester United.

However, the January transfer window is coming up in less than three months and the Blues are reportedly looking to potentially add another winger to their stable of options on the flanks.

Chelsea’s interest in Bundesliga whiz

According to BILD, the English giants are one of a number of sides showing an interest in Borussia Dortmund youngster Jamie Gittens ahead of the next window.

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The report claims that Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are also lining up a swoop for the former Manchester City academy talent, having tracked his progress in Germany with Nuri Sahin’s side this season.

This shows that there will be significant competition from other top sides in England if Chelsea do decide to act upon their interest in Gittens in January.

It states that all three clubs have sent scouts to watch the England U21 international in action to assess whether or not he would be a good addition to their respective squads.

There is no mention of how much it would take to tempt Dortmund into cashing in on the right-footed sensation, but a report in Spain earlier this year suggested that an offer of €30m (£25m) could be enough to get a deal done.

However, it remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea are prepared to act upon their interest by making a formal offer for the 20-year-old starlet.

Irrespective of that, though, this should come as bad news for current Blues forward Mykhailo Mudryk, who has found game time hard to come by already this season.

Why this is bad news for Mykhailo Mudryk

The Ukraine international is struggling to break into Maresca’s starting XI and the arrival of another winger would only add further competition for a starting berth on the left flank.

Like Mudryk, Gittens is a young left winger who likes to use his pace to get in behind or cut inside onto his favoured right foot to get shots off on goal, which means that they are similar in style.

Chelsea swooped to sign the attacker from Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported fee of £88.5m in January 2023 and he has failed to produce consistency in his performances in almost two years at the club.

The 23-year-old flop has only provided seven goals and seven assists in 66 appearances in all competitions for the Blues to date, with five goals and four assists in 50 Premier League outings, which shows that he has not offered much as either a scorer or a creator of goals.

Since Maresca’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in the summer, the £88.5m forward’s chances to impress have been limited in the English top-flight.

As you can see in the table above, Mudryk has only started one match in the Premier League and has struggled in and out of possession when he has been on the pitch, losing the majority of his physical battles and being far too loose in his use of the ball.

The attacker, who did land an assist against Gent in the Conference League, should now be concerned about Chelsea’s reported interest in Gittens, who plays in his position, as it suggests that the club want to add another player to put more distance between him and the starting XI.

Why Chelsea should sign Jamie Gittens

At the age of 20, the England U21 international could come in as a player for the future whilst also being able to make an impact in the short-term.

Due to his youth and inexperience, Gittens may not expect to come in as a regular starter and could accept being the second-choice behind Sancho, for now, on the left wing.

Whereas, Mudryk turns 24 in January and should be wanting to play week-in-week-out at this point in his career to take his game to the next level. It currently looks unlikely that he is going to do that at Chelsea and the arrival of another winger would do little to change that.

Gittens, who only turned 20 in August, has enjoyed a strong start to the season with Dortmund and could come in and offer more quality on the flank than the Ukraine international has.

As you can see in the table above, the English sensation has already racked up four goals and one assist in eight appearances in all competitions so far this term, whilst Mudryk has only scored seven goals in his entire Chelsea career.

Gittens, who was described as a “wonderkid” by scout Jacek Kulig, also managed one goal and six assists in 14 Bundesliga starts as a teenager during the 2023/24 campaign.

These statistics, and his form this season, suggest that the potential is there for the former Cityzens prospect to come in and be an upgrade on Mudryk, whilst also being three years younger, and that is why the news of Chelsea’s interest in him should come as bad news for the Ukrainian flop.

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