Football
Chelsea’s €35m bid for Jamie Gittens has been rejected by Borussia Dortmund; Bundesliga club are demanding €50-60m for the forward; Chelsea want to sign the England U21 international ahead of Club World Club; Blues value Milan No 1 Mike Maignan at €15m
Sunday 8 June 2025 13:01, UK
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Chelsea’s initial offer of €35m [£29.5m] for Jamie Gittens has been rejected by Borussia Dortmund, who are demanding €50-60m [£42-50m] for the forward, according to Sky in Germany.
Negotiations are ongoing between the parties and a new bid from Chelsea is expected.
The England U21 international wants to join the Blues and play for them in the Club World Cup, with a verbal agreement in place between the two.
Dortmund will also play in this summer’s competition, with Chelsea having until Tuesday’s deadline to get the deal done if they want Gittens to feature in the US.
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The west London club are looking to strengthen in the winger position following the decision not to take up the option to sign Jadon Sancho permanently.
The 20-year-old winger was a target in January and despite losing his place in Dortmund’s starting XI towards the end of the season, has remained high on a list of eight or nine attacking names Chelsea are working on this summer.
Chelsea may also sign another striker after already completing deal for Liam Delap, with Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko also on their shortlist.
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But goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga looks set to leave Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal are progressing with a deal to sign him and are expected to trigger the £5m release clause in his contract.
Sky Sports’ Adam Bate:
When it comes to honing young English talent, Dortmund know how to do that better than most clubs in the Premier League. But Gittens’ story is different to those of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham who came before him before moving on for big money.
Bellingham arrived having had a season in the Championship with Birmingham City. Sancho ranked alongside Phil Foden as one of the jewels in the Manchester City academy. Gittens, signed at the age of just 16, did not come with quite the same guarantees.
A prospect at Reading, he had spent only two years at City, but was not close to the first team when Dortmund made their move.
“We do not want to find 30 players like other teams in England do it. We want to find the one player who can reach our first team,” said Dortmund CEO Lars Ricken.
“When we signed him, he was not on Sancho’s level but we said, we can develop him to the level of a great player. It was a good cooperation between our scouting department, professional department and youth department.”
Latest from Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:
Chelsea have let it be known that they are prepared to pay AC Milan a maximum €15m (£12.6m) for Mike Maignan.
The Blues, who have not yet made a bid for the France goalkeeper, will not pay more than that for a player who will be 30 next month and has one year left on his contract.
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