“Wonderful addition” – Players were “almost laughing” at new Chelsea signing in his first session | OneFootball

Jamie Gittens could be announced as a Chelsea player today, after confirmation from the likes of Fabrizio Romano over the weekend that a deal worth something north of €60m for the winger from Borussia Dortmund had been agreed.

So what can we expect from our latest addition? The recent waves of wingers we’ve signed have tended to struggle. It’s hard to succeed Eden Hazard, but none of them have really come close. There’s some promising quotes from former England U-19 coach Ian Foster that are getting us excited, however.

Gittens impresses instantly at youth level

Jamie Gittens with a Chelsea news logo. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

He had a fascinating anecdote about Gittens’ first training sessions with that age group team.

“It was clear he had huge self-belief, I went to Germany to watch Jamie as he wasn’t part of the squad until the finals because he was a 2004-born player,” Foster said.

“I still remember his first training session vividly, sometimes the best reaction you can get is from your peers. The lads were almost laughing at his ability to glide past defenders, his calmness in the final third and level-headedness in hectic situations.”

Gittens misses out on Euros win – but will get big move at least

Gittens has now graduated to the Under-21 team, but missed out on their Euros win because he’s been with Dortmund at the Club World Cup. As Foster points out, that’s a pity, but with plenty of consolation:

“It would have been a great opportunity for Jamie but he’s already got a wealth of experience in Germany and in the Champions League. He’s only a baby really in terms of his age but he’d still be such an exciting acquisition for Chelsea.”

Dortmund have only used him for 13 minutes in the tournament as the move to Chelsea has developed.