Chelsea “in club to club talks” for £50m “superstar” who’d bench Gittens

Sunday’s draw at home to Crystal Palace was a game to forget for Chelsea, and not the way they would’ve wanted to kickstart their Premier League campaign.

Enzo Maresca’s side were underwhelming from the first minute to the last, and new signing Jamie Gittens failed to make any impact whatsoever.

The former Borussia Dortmund gem started the game but was taken off just 54 minutes in for the 18-year-old Estevao after failing three of his five dribbles, completing just 14 passes and not taking a single shot on target.

While it would be unfair to judge the Englishman too harshly on one performance, Chelsea are now closing in on another signing who could keep him on the bench more than he’d like.

Chelsea target Gittens upgrade

While the draw to the Eagles has taken the gloss off somewhat, this has still been a brilliant summer for Chelsea, as on top of their Club World Cup success, they’ve made several exciting signings.

For example, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap should add goals to the Blues’ frontline, and even though he is still just 19 years old, Jorrel Hato looks the real deal.

Moreover, even with all the signings they’ve made this window, the West Londoners are now closing in on another addition, someone who could keep Gittens on the bench.

At least that is according to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, who has claimed Chelsea are still working on a deal to sign Alejandro Garnacho.

The Italian journalist has revealed that the Blues and Manchester United are now “advancing in club to club talks” for the Argentine international, who “only wants” a move to Stamford Bridge.

Romano does not reveal how much the 21-year-old could cost, but reports from earlier this month claim that a fee of around £50m could seal the deal, and while that is a lot of money, it might be fair value for the talented youngster, even if he could see Gittens relegated to the bench.

Why Garnacho would bench Gittens

Now it should be said that Gittens is a talented youngster, and based on what we saw at Dortmund over the last couple of years, he’s someone we think will eventually be a success for Chelsea.

However, if the club get their hands on Garnacho, and it looks like they will, we reckon the Englishman will have to make do with being a bench player for some time, and the first reason why comes down to their respective output.

For example, in his 49 appearances for the German outfit last season, the Blues’ new left-winger scored 12 goals and provided five assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.88 games.

In contrast, the Madrid-born “superstar” in the making, as dubbed by journalist Liam Canning, was able to score 11 goals and provide ten assists in 58 appearances for a historically terrible United side, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.76 games.

Moreover, while the Bundesliga isn’t an easy league, it is ranked as only the fourth toughest in the world, whereas the Premier League is comfortably in the top spot.

So, while we know the Argentine international has what it takes to succeed in the league – he ranks in the top six for progressive carries, for example – the jury remains out on the Reading-born gem.

Finally, on top of having the better output and being proven in England, the United ace also comes out way ahead when we take a look under the hood, at their underlying numbers.

For example, he comes out on top in most relevant metrics such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, shots, key passes, ball recoveries and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, while Gittens is a talented player, Garnacho has him beat in pretty much all areas at the moment, and with him being more than comfortable off the left, we can see the United ace benching the Englishman this season.