Chelsea still pursuing Jamie Gittens after Dortmund reject first bid – sources

Chelsea are continuing to pursue a deal for Jamie Gittens despite Borussia Dortmund holding out for a fee in the region of £40 million ($54.3m), sources have told ESPN.

The west London club have had one offer rejected — believed to be around £30m — but talks are ongoing in an effort to find an agreement, with the 20-year-old keen on a move to Stamford Bridge.

Gittens is a former Manchester City youth team player and they hold a clause guaranteeing them 10% of his next transfer fee as part of the deal which took him to Germany in 2020.

Chelsea want to strengthen their attacking options this summer and have already secured the £30m signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich Town.

Delap is eligible to play in the Club World Cup but Chelsea will have to move quickly to ensure Gittens can do the same given the deadline for registration is Tuesday.

Gittens has played 106 times for Dortmund, scoring 17 goals and is an England under-21 international.

Chelsea are also still exploring a deal to sign AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan but the two clubs are a long way apart in their valuations.

They have wrapped up a deal for Strasbourg midfielder Mamadou Sarr.