It’s already been a successful season for Chelsea, but they’re far from done just yet.
Enzo Maresca guided his team to fourth place in the Premier League table, the Blues’ best finish for three seasons, thereby securing a return to the Champions League.
Then, last Wednesday, Chelsea picked up silverware too, fighting back from a goal down to defeat Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League Final; Enzo Fernández, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Moisés Caicedo all on target during a 25 minute second half spree in Wrocław.
Nevertheless, the Blues’ campaign is far from over, set to take on Los Angeles FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in their Club World Cup opener on 16 June, before then facing Flamengo and Espérance Sportive de Tunis in Philadelphia.
Ahead of that fixture in Atalanta in just under a fortnight, will Chelsea supporters have a new forward to get excited about?
Chelsea looking to bolster their forward line
The Blues have already been active in the summer window, notably reportedly wrapping up a deal to bring Ipswich Town forward Liam Delap to Stamford Bridge.
So, what’s the next order of business? Well, it could be another Englishman.
Indeed, according to a report by Mike McGrath and Sam Dean of the Telegraph, Chelsea ‘are in talks’ to sign Jamie Gittens for £50m, adding that they are hopeful of getting the deal done before the Club World Cup deadline of 10th June.
Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian notes that the Blues view it as a ‘priority’ to sign a ‘right-footed winger capable of playing on the left flank’, having previously assessed Nico Williams and Alejandro Garnacho, but Gittens is now their number one target.
Born in Reading, the 20-year-old winger actually spent time in Chelsea’s academy, also representing his hometown club and Manchester City at youth level, before moving to Germany in 2020.
Now though, could he be returning home in time to represent the Blues stateside at the revamped Club World Cup?
Why Jamie Gittens could be Chelsea's next Cole Palmer
Since making his Borussia Dortmund debut against Wolfsburg in April 2022, Gittens has accumulated 106 appearances for die Schwarzgelben, scoring 17 goals and registering 14 assists, thereby earning rave reviews.
Alex Barker of the Athletic describes him as “absolutely rapid” and an “excellent” dribbler, while Saul Morris of Football Talent Scout believes his ‘potential is extremely high’, labelling him England’s ‘next diamond’.
Meantime, Alexandra Hunt of Total Football Analysis praised his ‘impressive performances’ for an inconsistent Dortmund team, while Lebohang Mwamuka from Breaking the Lines asserts that Gittens’ ‘future is very bright’, highlighting how his ‘impressive ball-striking’ ability as well as the fact he is a ‘high-volume dribbler’ regularly leaves ‘defenders flummoxed’.
Chelsea, of course, do already boast plenty of wide-attacking options, namely Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho.
Although, the latter’s future at Stamford Bridge is currently in doubt, with Greg Barringer-Grimes of BBC Sport reporting that the Blues are considering paying a £5m penalty fee to not sign Sancho, rather than making his loan from Manchester United permanent for £25m.
Nevertheless, should Gittens arrive, fans would hope that he will have a similar impact to that of Cole Palmer.
Before we even look at their influence on play in the final third, similarities begin to emerge. Not only are they two of the most exciting young English talents in the game but Gittens, like Palmer, also spent time in the Manchester City academy.
So, let’s compare the duo to assess if that is feasible.
Appearances
46
48
Minutes
3,691
2,791
Goals
15
12
Assists
12
5
Big chances missed
19
4
Big chances created
33
9
Goals – xG
-3.5
+6.7
Shot on target %
36.2%
40.3%
Attempted take-ons
124
232
Take-on success %
44.4%
44.8%
Shot-creating actions
218
104
Pass completion %
78%
77.3%
Touches per 90
50
41
As the table highlights, while Palmer’s raw statistics are more impressive, namely goals, assists, big chances created and shot-creating actions, the numbers do still reflect favourably on Gittens.
Gittens’ goal – xG is vastly superior to that of Palmer, while the Dortmund youngster ranks exceedingly highly when it comes to take-ons.
In fact, across Europe’s top five leagues, Gittens ranked seventh for attempted take-ons (171) this season, while the highest-placed Chelsea player via this metric is Palmer, ranked 49th with 113 take-ons, all according to FBref.com.
Thus, it is clear that Gittens is a high-quality, even higher potential player, and his outstanding dribbling ability would add something to Chelsea’s forward line, suggesting he could have a similar impact on arrival to that of Palmer.
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