Chelsea have encountered another hurdle in their bid to sign Jamie Gittens, with Bayern Munich joining the race for the wantaway Borussia Dortmund attacker.
Gittens reportedly agreed personal terms with Chelsea before BVB’s Club World Cup campaign got underway earlier this month and the 20-year-old has been eager to push through a move to Stamford Bridge.
But the Blues have failed with two separate offers for Gittens and Dortmund are refusing to be bullied by the Europa Conference League winners as talks rumble on between the clubs.
Determined to get their man having already landed Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr, the west London giants are expected to return with a third offer for Gittens in due course.
But according to German publication Kicker, Bayern are preparing to ramp up their pursuit of Gittens as they grow increasingly resigned to their top target, Nico Williams, joining Barcelona.
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Athletic Bilbao and Spain sensation Williams is said to favour a switch to the Camp Nou which has forced the German champions to explore other possible avenues, leading them to Gittens.
It’s claimed the Dortmund and England Under-21 winger is now firmly onBayern’s ‘radar’ and initial negotiations have begun between the two Bundesliga rivals with a view to hashing out a possible deal.
The report adds that BVB would be willing to part with Gittens should they receive an offer in the region of €60million (£51m) this summer – and a bidding war could break out between Bayern and Chelsea.
AC Milan’s Rafael Leao, Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola and Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma also find themselves on Bayern’s shortlist of attacking targets
Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl had been expected to stay with Vincent Kompany’s squad for the duration of the Club World Cup in the United States – but the German ‘unexpectedly’ left the tournament to attend to the club’s transfer business two days ago.
Gittens’ current contract with Dortmund runs through to June 2028.
‘We’ve had one or two conversations with Jamie in the last few days,’ BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl told reporters when asked for an update on Gittens’ situation after the club’s goalless draw with Fluminense.
‘He’s professional enough to know that he has to perform. That’s part of his nature.
‘Jamie will still be very important for us in this tournament. We’ll see what happens after that.
‘But I don’t have a negative opinion of him.’
Before Chelsea’s Club World Cup campaign began, Enzo Maresca confirmed the club were in the market for a new winger to fill the void left by Jadon Sancho.
‘Jadon is not with us so for sure that is a position [winger] we need to do something,’ the Chelsea head coach told explained.
‘We have Noni [Madueke], Pedro [Neto] and Ty [George] only as the proper wingers so something for sure is going to happen.
‘When the transfer window is open, for sure, we can do something.’
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