With Chelsea focusing on Jamie Gittens, the 20-year-old winger appears to be like set to turn into a Premier League participant however his route there was a bit totally different.

In dialog with coaches and team-mates, we analyse the explanations for his rise and what might come subsequent for him at Stamford Bridge…

🔵 Early promise at Studying
🟡 Creating at Dortmund
🔵 How he matches in at Chelsea

How freedom helped him flourish at Studying

Sky Sports activities’ Nick Wright:

Gittens made his transfer to Borussia Dortmund from Manchester Metropolis, following the identical path as Jadon Sancho, a participant he might now exchange at Chelsea, however the bulk of his adolescence had been spent at Studying, the place those that labored with him bear in mind him fondly.

Chatting with Sky Sports activities in 2023, one of many membership’s former academy coaches Rhys Denton defined how they went about nurturing his appreciable ability and aptitude.

“For a large participant, you are on the lookout for someone who can dominate one-v-one and it was clear that he had these traits in abundance, so we tried to encourage him to play with freedom.

“You need these gamers to have the boldness and be happy to go once more, and once more, and once more, and Jamie was actually relentless with it. He wished to have the ball, he wished to journey with it and beat gamers, however he additionally had a lens on being productive.

“He wished to attain a aim, he wished to help his team-mates, he wished to be that thrilling participant who bought individuals out of their chairs.”

Gittens relished the liberty afforded to him at Studying and, after becoming a member of Manchester Metropolis in 2018, there was additional encouragement to precise himself when he featured in a collection of showcase matches run by London-based youth soccer organisation FFDTV.

The small-sided video games replicated cage soccer, encouraging the sort of one-v-one qualities that now type such a giant a part of Gittens’ attraction to Chelsea.

“It was simple to see Jamie was a really distinctive expertise,” stated the organisers. “Loads of the boys come from taking part in 11-a-side with their golf equipment, however it’s tougher to shine in our periods as a result of they’re three-v-three, four-v-four matches and the depth may be very excessive.

“He was simply fearless. These periods are about as shut as you may get to avenue or cage soccer and Jamie thrives off that.”

It was round a yr after these showcase video games that Gittens made his transfer to Dortmund, a courageous step for a younger participant which underlined a few of his different qualities.

“I feel that takes a sure degree of maturity,” stated Denton. “I feel it takes an understanding of what the challenge you see for your self is and the way you see your recreation growing.

“I can not converse any larger of that. This present day, particularly at youth degree, lots of people have a look at the flashy boots and all the items that include soccer, however what number of of them are actually planning? What number of are actually trying in-depth at what’s going to assist them have an extended profession?”

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Gittens, Denton stated, was utterly devoted to studying and bettering his recreation, even at that younger age. “A yr after he had joined Dortmund from Metropolis, I caught up with him to do some coaching at a efficiency camp in Bristol the place I might been doing a little work.

“We spent loads of time within the automobile travelling down collectively and he was simply taking a look at clips of gamers. Older gamers like Ronaldinho, proper the best way by means of to your Jadon Sanchos.

“He is the kind of participant who desires to take the most effective issues from the most effective gamers and put them into his recreation to be able to make the most effective of himself.

“That coupled with some sensible behaviours – ensuring he takes care of himself, being well-mannered – and also you perceive the performances and maturity you are seeing from him now.”

Gittens’ improvement at Dortmund

Sky Sports activities’ Adam Bate:

When Dortmund signed Gittens from Manchester Metropolis on the age of 16, the switch flew underneath the radar. But it surely was a part of the membership’s coverage to establish promising younger expertise which may not see the identical pathway to the primary group that Dortmund might present.

“We satisfied him to signal,” stated managing director Carsten Cramer. “We had good proof by means of the opposite ones who we signed – and never solely the English ones. The youthful ones know they may obtain minutes, that Dortmund is a wonderful platform.”

Nevertheless, Gittens was so younger that there was not fairly the identical degree of hype round him as there had been Sancho. However, as Cramer factors out, Dortmund “offers you the time to develop your self” and Gittens has blossomed in his 5 years within the Ruhr.

Visiting Dortmund late final yr, there was an opportunity to talk to Lars Ricken, the membership’s managing director of sport, in addition to Cramer. “After we signed him, he was not on Sancho’s degree however we stated, we will develop him to the extent of an ideal participant,” stated Ricken.

“I can bear in mind when he was taking part in with the youth group, we stated we would have liked time till April after which he will likely be prepared for the primary group. It was underneath Marco Rose [in 2022] that he made his debut. Since then, nice improvement, particularly this season.”

Gittens needed to overcome adversity at Dortmund. Arriving within the midst of a pandemic, a critical damage hampered his first season. “Even within the final season he by no means performed 90 minutes,” stated Ricken in November. “Now, he’s bettering his taking part in time.”

It was later that day that Gittens underlined Ricken’s level by scoring a sensational solo aim to open the scoring towards Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker. It was one in all a dozen objectives for Dortmund this previous season, making 48 appearances for the membership in complete.

Chatting with Felix Nmecha that night, the Dortmund midfielder who had additionally been a team-mate of Gittens at Manchester Metropolis’s academy, he mentioned his development.

“He has grown and developed, additionally simply by means of extra recreation time,” Nmecha advised Sky Sports activities. “He’s getting extra expertise and beginning to make the fitting choices on the proper time. If he retains going like this he has such an enormous future forward of him.”

How Gittens can add spark to Chelsea assault

Sky Sports activities’ Peter Smith:

It wasn’t at all times thrill-a-minute underneath Enzo Maresca final season at Chelsea. Removed from it. However Gittens can add spark to the group’s attacking play.

Comparisons with Sancho are inevitable, given their profession histories and most popular left-wing function however Gittens’ output of dribbles and crosses at round twice the speed of the previous Blues loanee illustrates the totally different method the brand new arrival is prone to carry.

In reality, Gittens’ mesmeric, high-speed dribbling capability is on one other degree by way of frequency to what we have seen from Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke within the Premier League this previous season, too. Gittens has been a livewire within the Bundesliga and the plan will likely be for him to translate that into Maresca’s set-up.

On paper, it needs to be an excellent match. Because the passing community for Chelsea final season exhibits, Maresca likes his gamers to search out the wingers excessive and vast. From there, Gittens will relish the one-on-one battles with full-backs as he appears to be like to create alternatives to chop inside and shoot on his favoured proper foot or go on the surface to cross for England youth-team pal Liam Delap or Nicolas Jackson.

Gittens’ prime velocity of 35.96km/hr was the Sixteenth-fastest clocked within the German prime flight final season and the prospect of him stretching defences or igniting counters is an attractive one for Blues followers who’ve discovered their facet too predictable of late. If Sancho’s lack of tempo was a criticism geared toward him, it will not be a problem for Gittens.

Like most Chelsea signings, at 20 years previous, Gittens has room to enhance and expertise so as to add to his recreation. He’s not the completed article. However his unpredictability on the ball will likely be a welcome addition at Stamford Bridge.