Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl has left the door open for Chelsea regarding a potential future deal for Jamie Gittens. Chelsea was in discussions to sign Jamie Gittens in time for him to be registered in their squad for the Club World Cup tournament kicking off in the USA this weekend.
However, the 20-year-old remains a Borussia Dortmund player after the transfer window closed at 7pm BST on Tuesday. This came after Chelsea had a £29.5m opening bid rejected, with the Conference League winners reportedly making two further offers, neither of which met Dortmund’s apparent asking price of £55m.
As a consequence, Jamie Gittens may even face Chelsea, as he has been included in Borussia Dortmund squad for the Club World Cup. Nonetheless, there is still hope for a future transfer, especially since Kehl emphasized that the two clubs maintain a good relationship amid the decision to reject the offers.
He stated: “There was contact with Chelsea FC, who got in touch again yesterday afternoon. We spoke again on the phone and exchanged expectations and different ideas. In the end, we didn’t come to an agreement because we have different ideas about the player’s current value. But the talks were very, very respectful. We have been in very good dialogue with Chelsea for many years.
“We are happy Jamie Gittens will now be part of our team at the Club World Cup and are delighted he is staying. I’m not responsible for the late offer, but of course, I still have to deal with it, and that’s what we’ve done. We looked into it very seriously, but in the end, we also made a decision for ourselves. It’s still absolutely OK that Chelsea made this attempt. And, once again, we are in good dialogue. Let’s see how things develop in the future.”
