Chelsea complete signing of Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens

Chelsea have completed the signing of Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund.

The move has been on the cards for a number of weeks with the club getting the deal over the line on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to the club website, Gittens said: "It feels great. It’s a great feeling to join such a big club as Chelsea.

"I can’t wait to learn from everyone in the team and to push myself to the max here. It’s an amazing feeling."

A fee hasn't been confirmed but it had been suggested the German club wanted around £50m for the right-winger.

Gittens had been linked with a move away from Borussia Dortmund for some time with Bayern Munich amongst the clubs rumoured to be interested.

Only turning 21 the week before the new season starts, Gittens has signed a contract until 2032, set to expire shortly before his 27th birthday with the Premier League club finally getting the new winger they've been after.

Chelsea have been linked with the likes of Malick Fofana and Alejandro Garnacho, but they've plumped for former Manchester City man Gittens.

Enzo Maresca largely used Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke on the flanks last season, but with Jadon Sancho sent back to Manchester United and Mykhailo Mudryk serving a lengthy drugs ban, the Blues sorely needed reinforcements.

At first glance, Gittens looks like exactly the sort of winger Maresca needs for his system. The Italian likes his wingers high and wide, which never suited a Sancho-type winger, but looks ideal for Gittens who's an exciting dribbler with plenty of pace.

With Cole Palmer typically drifting in off the right, it should give left-winger Gittens more space to isolated defenders to beat them one on one.

If there is a frustration with Gittens it's that his end product is currently lacking, and while his running with the ball and ability to beat a man makes him a threat, he rarely maximises that talent.

Despite his eight goals and three assists in the Bundesliga last season, Gittens' xG/90 and xA/90 were only 0.18 and 0.13, down on Madueke's 0.43 xG and 0.19 xA.

But it's much harder to train the skills Gittens has than the ones he doesn't have, and with the move finally going through, it's an exciting prospect for the Blues.

Liam Williams

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