Chelsea receive glowing Jamie Gittens reference as transfer agreement reached
INTERVIEW: Former England U19 head coach Ian Foster worked with Jamie Gittens during his time in charge of the young Three Lions and he believed the 20-year-old winger is ready to light up the Premier League for Chelsea
Jamie Gittens has long strived to emulate the achievements of idol Jadon Sancho.
Now a £55million transfer agreement has been struck between Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, the 20-year-old winger will be tasked with replacing his compatriot and former team-mate at Stamford Bridge.
Gittens, who flourished within boyhood club Reading's academy setup before later moving to Manchester City, has already verbally agreed a seven-year contract with the Blues.
Ex-England U19 head coach Ian Foster is under no illusions that Enzo Maresca's Conference League winners would be acquiring an attacking gem, explaining: "It's no surprise to see that a club the size of Chelsea are in for Jamie.
"He was a quiet boy but a joy to work with, really humble, open-minded and always up for the challenge. Jamie is a player that would never get disheartened if he wasn't getting success.
"He's going to be up against some of the world's best full-backs in the Premier League next season and if he's having a tough time, he won't go missing. In fact, it will have the reverse effect, it will actually excite him.
"I think he'd be a wonderful addition to the Premier League, he's got a vast amount of technical ability, skill plus the mindset to continue achieving great things."
Gittens, who previously had a very brief spell with Chelsea's U9s, was part of Foster's young Three Lions side that won the U19 European Championships in 2022.
The triumph did not come without struggle for the silky dribbler, however, in the view of Foster, the experience was living proof that fearless speedster Gittens possessed the tools to succeed at the highest level.
He revealed: "I was aware of Jamie from a young age, he was a Reading boy before the big move to City. When he made the brave decision to join Dortmund, he almost looked to follow in the footsteps of Jadon and that showed what type of character he is.
"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.
"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.
"But Jamie had issues with his shoulders, he suffered a dislocation in training and later came off the bench against Italy in the semi-finals as it popped out again following a strong tackle.
"I was so desperate for him to play and thankfully, he could start the final before undergoing surgery which has now fixed the problem."
Gittens, who became the youngest English goalscorer to net against Real Madrid last October in the Champions League, has played just 13 minutes at the Club World Cup as Chelsea hone in on a transfer.
While there is an element of frustration that the big-spending Blues were unable to strike a deal before the start of the tournament, there was always confidence they would be able to fend off strong late interest from Bayern Munich.
Foster insists it's a major shame that Gittens, who also snubbed Arsenal when leaving home for City in 2018, was unable to feature for England U21s at the European Championships as he would have undoubtedly had a key role to play on the pathway to glory in Slovakia.
He concluded: "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."
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