Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director says the club want to sign a Chelsea star this summer following the transfer of Jamie Gittens.
Chelsea have been very busy this transfer window, spending £210million on seven new signings, including Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
There could be even more incomings but the Blues also have many players they need to sell, some of whom they failed to offload last season.
One of those is Carney Chukwuemeka who only moved to Stamford Bridge from Aston Villa three years ago in a deal worth around £15m.
While it initially looked like he had a big future in west London, Enzo Maresca made it clear that the midfielder was not in his plans, playing him just five times and only once from the start.
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The 21-year-old was loaned out to Dortmund in January and has made 17 appearances for the German giants, albeit only two starts, scoring one goal.
Chukwuemeka’s loan came to an end over the weekend after Dortmund were knocked out of the Club World Cup by Real Madrid, who will now play PSG for a place in the final against either Chelsea or Fluminense.
But despite his limited minutes, Dortmund like what they see in the young Englishman and the club’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl has now stated their intention to re-sign him: ‘Carney’s loan ends today.
‘That was what we agreed with Chelsea. Now, let’s see. We will definitely have some more discussions in the next few days about his situation.
‘I think it was a good move from Carney to join us. Now let’s see how we manage everything.
‘It won’t be easy, but for sure we will try to keep him because he’s a very good player. This topic is something for the future, and right now I don’t know what will happen.’
Chukwuemeka still has three years left on his contract and it is said Chelsea will not sell for below his £40m release clause.
That may prove too step for the Bundesliga side who may offer to take the player back on loan first, potentially with an option or obligation to buy, and it is reported that talks over a transfer actually began back in May.
Kehl has also explained why the transfer for Gittens was delayed, a blow for Chelsea as they wanted to sign him in time to play at the Club World Cup.
‘We held many discussions with Chelsea in recent weeks. We refused an offer on June 10, but now we have found an agreement,’ he added.
‘Jamie wanted to make that next step, and Chelsea will get a very professional and highly motivated young player, who still has lots of potential. We built him for five years here at Dortmund. He’s a great kid, and we wish him all the best.’
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