Manchester City handed major transfer blow as Chelsea close in on Borussia Dortmund forward signing | OneFootball

Manchester City are set to miss out on a sell-on fee for Chelsea-bound academy graduate Jamie Gittens in a deal expected to be worth £55 million, as per a new report.

Sell-on clauses in contracts of academy players heading towards the exit door have become a recurring avenue of profit for Manchester City in recent years, bolstering their prospects in the transfer market especially in recent years.

City have received a financial windfall for several academy players progressing their careers with this tactful approach of inserting sell-on clauses, which has seen the Blues profit from Liam Delap and Romeo Lavia move to Chelsea in the last 24 months.

Chelsea have become regular customers at the Etihad Stadium, having signed Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer for a combined £95 to foster a growing Manchester City contingent at Stamford Bridge, led by former City U-21 manager Enzo Maresca.

Pep Guardiola has enjoyed a fine start to the summer himself, with newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana laying down an early marker by securing the arrival(s) of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki for the Manchester City manager.

After topping their FIFA Club World Cup group with three wins in three and a net aggregate score of 13-2, Manchester City will face Al-Hilal in the Round of 16 on Monday as they look to make a strong start to the 2025-26 campaign.

City fell short of their own standards last term, marking a meagre third-place Premier League finish with 71 points, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and losing the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

However, the ship does seem to have turned for Guardiola and co, who are aiming to go all the way in the Club World Cup in the United States before travelling back to the UK to progress pre-season preparations in a bid to challenge on all fronts next term.

With four new arrivals secured early into the window, Manchester City are expected to step up their pursuit of a new right-back to replace the outgoing Kyle Walker, with Newcastle and England U-21 international Valentino Livramento featuring high on the Blues’ wishlist.

City have money to spend after a few years of lucrative sales but they will have to make do without a profit from Jamie Gittens’ upcoming transfer to Chelsea, which is reportedly worth £55 million and will see the Borussia Dortmund winger head to west London, as per Simon Bajkowski writing for the Manchester Evening News.

It is unlike Manchester City to sell academy graduates without inserting a sell-on clause in their contracts as the Blues witness one of their own join a growing City settlement led by Maresca at Chelsea.

Outgoings are expected to dominate the headlines for Manchester City in the near future as the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish – in addition to Walker – find new clubs after being left out of the Club World Cup squad by Guardiola, who is also looking to trim his bloated squad before the beginning of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.