Chelsea offer to double Jamie Gittens' salary as Blues open talks to sign €60m winger from Borussia Dortmund

Sky Sport in Germany reported that Chelsea have officially registered their interest in Dortmund forward Gittens, with the England under-21 international seemingly growing dissatisfied with his declining role under coach Niko Kovac.

Gittens is under contract until 2028 at Signal Iduna Park and has 12 goals for Dortmund in all competitions this season. However, he has not started a Bundesliga game since March 8, though he did start the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona. Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham have all also been linked with the former Manchester City youth player.

Sky reported that Chelsea are prepared to pay Gittens a salary of €6-7 million per season. He is said to be receiving €3m per season at Dortmund. Additionally, an offer of between €50m (£43m/$57m) and €60m (£51m/$68m) would reportedly be enough to get Dortmund to the negotiating table.

Dortmund may have a better chance of keeping Gittens in the Bundesliga for at least another season if they able to salvage their campaign by qualifying for the Champions League. They are outsiders to do so right now, as Kovac’s men trail fourth-placed RB Leipzig by four points with four games remaining. They’ll hope to gain ground on Saturday with victory away at Hoffenheim, and Chelsea and others may be paying close attention to whether Gittens starts the game amid speculation of him being disgruntled at the club.