Chelsea must unleash "future Ballon d'Or winner" instead of signing Gittens

Chelsea are poised for yet another summer of spending.

Since Todd Boehly took over at Chelsea three years ago, the club have signed over 40 first-team players for in excess of £1bn, but are not forecast to slow down in the transfer market any time soon.

However, they could keep their powder dry and not make a move for a highly-rated English youngster, given that a certain wonderkid is already set to arrive in West London this summer.

Chelsea’s interest in Jamie Gittens

According to a report by German publication Bild, Chelsea, as well as newly re-crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, are ‘interested’ in signing Jamie Gittens this summer, with Borussia Dortmund valuing their star winger at around £85m.

The 20-year-old Englishman, who previously spent time at Chelsea’s academy, has played a starring role during an otherwise disappointing season for die Schwarzgelben, scoring 12 goals across all competitions, earning widespread praise.

Seb Stafford-Bloor of the Athletic believes he has become one of Europe’s ‘most destructive players’, adding that he ‘influences matches’ and is a ‘game-breaker’, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels him a ‘direct winger’, praising his ‘quick feet [and] trickery’.

Gittens is obviously a high-quality, high-potential attacker, but Chelsea already have a bigger talent on their hands, who they should prioritise before making any more big-money signings.

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The future superstar on his way to Chelsea

Back in June 2024, it was confirmed that Chelsea had completed the signing of teenager Estêvão Willian from Palmeiras for a reported fee of £29m, which could rise to £55m, with the Brazilian set to arrive in West London this summer, having now celebrated his 18th birthday.

As noted by Arthur Ferridge of the Evening Standard, Estêvão​​​​​​​ will remain with Palmeiras for the Club World Cup before moving to Chelsea afterwards, meaning he could face his future employers this summer; the duo are on course to potentially clash in the quarter-finals.

Despite the fact he’s been 18 for under a fortnight, Estêvão is one of the most highly-rated youngsters on the planet, and the table below will outline why.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels the teenager a “world-class talent”, analyst Ben Mattinson believes the “superstar” is a “future Ballon d’Or winner”, while international teammate Neymar believes the “big talent…. will be a genius” in the near future.

That’s certainly high praise for a player still in his teenage years.

Nathalia Tavares from Breaking the Lines outlines that the winger​​​​​​​ ‘is a left-footed attacker’ who has predominantly been deployed on the right flank, describing him as ‘creative’ and ‘capable of carrying the ball’ forward, impressed by his ‘excellent’ link-up play and ‘natural flair’.

On top of this, Luis Kircher from Total Football Analysis praises his maturity and ‘understanding of how to influence games’, describing his astronomical rise as ‘nothing short of sensational’.

So, let’s assess his statistics in last season’s Brasileirão.

As the table outlines, despite limited minutes, his statistics last season were exceptional, doing so at a high level too; Global Football Rankings believes the Brasileirão to be the sixth-strongest league in the world, making it the best outside Europe.

The teenager ranks first for pretty much every dribbling-related metric included – underlining his comparisons to Gittens – while his tally of 13 goals, bettered only by Yuri Alberto​​​​​​​ and Alerrandro, is also eye-catching and noteworthy.

Thus, while, of course, Gittens is undeniably a top talent too, Chelsea should resist the temptation to splash another £85m on a youngster, instead prioritising making space in the squad for Estêvão, who’ll be ready to explode once he arrives in July.

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