It was a frustrating afternoon for Chelsea as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United on a day where they had the chance to leapfrog Manchester City into third place in the Premier League table.
However, Nicolas Jackson made life difficult for Enzo Maresca’s after he was sent off for needlessly elbowing Sven Botman in the face.
Newcastle United had taken an early lead, courtesy of Sandro Tonali’s opening goal and despite Chelsea’s valiant efforts in the second half to get back into the contest, Bruno Guimaraes’ late strike sealed their fate.
After Jackson’s sending off, Maresca took the surprising decision of taking Noni Madueke off, who was not having his finest game on the left-wing.
As a result, Marc Cucurella was tasked to dominate the entire flank and it seemed like unless Cole Palmer created a moment of magic out, Chelsea would remain goalless.
Chelsea need to go all out to sign Jamie Gittens after loss vs Newcastle
However, Palmer was unable to do so as Chelsea’s latest setback showed how much they need to sign a brand-new left-winger as Madueke is yet to fully earn Enzo Maresca’s trust; namely Jamie Gittens.
Chelsea are interested in signing Gittens, as are Arsenal and despite having both Madueke and Jadon Sancho on their books, they lack a top-class left-winger within their ranks.
The Borussia Dortmund wideman is one of the best up-and-coming forwards in the world and despite the German giants’ struggles this campaign, he has had his breakthrough season — registering 12 goals and five assists in 35 starts.
Gittens’ dream is to play Premier League football and at Chelsea, he would virtually become a guaranteed starter from the get-go — which could tempt him to say yes to a potential move.
The Englishman is a brilliant dribbles, direct and capable of producing the spectacular — as he showed during Dortmund’s 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich with an excellent solo goal.
Both technically and physically, Gittens has the attributes to shine in the Premier League — something one cannot say about Sancho due to his ongoing struggles while Madueke is a right-winger by trade.
Who Chelsea are willing to sell to sign Jamie Gittens
The obvious worry for the Blues is that Gittens is on Arsenal’s shortlist as well.
In case Nico Williams decides to stay at Athletic Bilbao or moves elsewhere in the summer, Arsenal will try signing Gittens.
| JAMIE GITTENS STATS THIS SEASON | |
| STARTS | 35 |
| GOALS | 12 |
| ASSISTS | 5 |
However, Chelsea are willing to sell Carney Chukwuemeka to Borussia Dortmund just to seal the 20-year-old’s signing, considering Enzo Maresca may have send a message to the board by taking Madueke off at half-time despite trailing 1-0 at the time.
It is high-time Palmer is given a partner-in-crime to run riot alongside and considering the West Londoners are yet to replace Eden Hazard since his departure in 2019, they must go all to sign Gittens, who is valued at £50 million.
