Chelsea closing in on signing of Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens

Englishman Gittens, 20, looks set to join the Blues on a long-term contract after a reported £55million deal was reached between the two teams, who are at the Club World Cup in the United States.

A statement from the German side read: “Borussia Dortmund’s offensive player Jamie Gittens (20) is on the verge of a transfer to the English Premier League club Chelsea FC.

“All parties involved agreed in principle on this today, Thursday, in Fort Lauderdale (USA). The contractual details are still being finalised.”

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl admitted it had not been a straightforward deal to make, which will see the Reading-born winger – who spent time in the Manchester City youth academy before heading to the Bundesliga in 2020 – return to England.

“The negotiations with Chelsea were challenging, but in the end, we are glad that we can most likely realise our expectations and gain planning security,” Kehl said.

“Jamie is an excellent player who has brought us great joy. It was his wish to take the next step in his career at Chelsea, and we wish him all the very best and much success.”

Gittens made 76 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund, scoring 12 goals, and also played in their Champions League campaigns.

Chelsea have already spent heavily in the summer window, with Joao Pedro coming in from Brighton on a reported £60m transfer after England under-21 international Liam Delap had been signed from Ipswich.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was unable to add any information when asked ahead of his side’s Club World Cup quarter-final against Palmeiras in Philadelphia.

Maresca said: “I was flying and watching the Palmeiras game. I don’t know, not yet. Probably something can happen but I don’t have any more information about it.”