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Chelsea have been given a major boost to their hopes of finally signing Jamie Gittens. The Borussia Dortmund winger was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge ahead of the Club World Cup, but the Blues simply couldn't wrap up a deal in time.

Rather than sending him home, Gittens was named in the Bundesliga club's squad for the new-look tournament in the United States. The 20-year-old was given no more than a quarter-of-an-hour in Dortmund's opener Fluminense.

Despite Gittens' best efforts to break the deadlock, the Brazilian giants held Niko Kovac's men to a goalless draw. Then, on Friday evening, the England Under-21 international was an unused substitute in a 4-3 win over Mamelodi Sundowns.

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The Dortmund boss made five substitutions during the tie. When the South African club narrowed the deficit to two goals, on the hour-mark, Kovac brought on Marcel Sabitzer and Carney Chukwuemeka for Julian Brandt and Felix Nmecha.

Towards the end of the match, Niklas Sule and Jobe Bellingham then replaced Julian Ryerson and Maximilian Beier. A few moments later, Sundowns pulled back another, so Kovac took off Serhou Guirassy.

Rather than bring on Gittens, the Dortmund boss gave Karim Adeyemi the nod. While the Englishman doesn't necessarily fit his new manager's style of football, he could have just been rested in anticipation of an imminent transfer to Chelsea.

Gittens' omission could be the green light that Enzo Maresca has been waiting for in his quest for a stronger frontline. football.london understands that Chelsea are preparing a fresh offer for the youngster.

Despite having had a £42m bid rejected by the Bundesliga outfit, earlier this summer, Gittens remains the Blues' primary target. It's said that the west Londoners have already verbally agreed on personal terms, with the winger understood to be very keen on a switch to Stamford Bridge.

football.london understands that talks with Dortmund are ongoing, and they want £50m for his signature. Speaking to reporters ahead of Chelsea's 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in the Club World Cup, Maresca was quizzed on the summer transfer window.

The Blues boss claimed that he wants to sign a new winger following Jadon Sancho's return to Manchester United. As quoted by the BBC, he said: "Jadon is not with us.

"So, for sure, that is a position that probably we need to do something. Also, because Misha [Mudryk] is not with us. At this moment, we have Noni [Madueke], Pedro [Neto] and Ty [George] as proper wingers.

"So, for sure, something is going to happen."