Liverpool are among the clubs said to be interested in Dortmund left winger Jamie Gittens, who could be available for significantly less than expected.
Gittens, the England U21s winger who joined Dortmund from Man City in 2020, has been linked with Liverpool on a number of occasions this season.
Sources in Germany have maintained the Reds’ interest while journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed last month that club scouts had watched the 20-year-old “several times.”
Liverpool are again named in a new report from Sky Germany, with Dortmund “preparing internally” for their No. 43 to depart at the end of the season.
Chelsea, Man United and Tottenham are also linked along with Bayern Munich, with the Premier League described as Gittens’ “dream destination.”
“One thing is certain: if Dortmund do not qualify for either the Champions League or the Europa League at the end of the season, they will probably have to sell Gittens,” Sky Germany report.
Dortmund to cut their price tag
As it stands with 10 games left to play, Jurgen Klopp‘s former club are 10th in the Bundesliga, albeit only five points off fifth place which would secure a Europa League spot.
Dortmund – who have not finished below fifth since 2014/15 and have therefore competed in the last nine seasons of the Champions League – have valued Gittens at €100 million (£82.7m).
But that is deemed “rather unrealistic,” and a price tag in the region of €60 million (£49.6m) to €70 million (£57.9m) is suggested as the likely figure for interested clubs.
Gittens has already played 94 times for Dortmund’s first team and though his output is fairly low at 16 goals and 10 assists he is developing into a formidable attacker.
The majority of his appearances have come on the left wing, though he has also played on the right on 15 occasions and once as a more central attacking midfielder.
He has been a regular for England U21s over the past two campaigns, including a goal assisted by Harvey Elliott in a 7-0 thrashing of Luxembourg this time last year.
Do Liverpool need another winger?
Liverpool currently have an abundance of options on the left wing, most notably second-top scorer Cody Gakpo and the versatile Luis Diaz.
That may make any reported interest in Gittens dubious, but there could be movement in Arne Slot‘s attacking ranks this summer with question marks over a number of players.
Diaz continues to be linked with Barcelona and the Colombian will enter the final two years of his contract in July, while Darwin Nunez is expected to leave amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
There of course remains uncertainty over Mohamed Salah‘s future, with the Egyptian yet to be handed an agreeable contract extension despite his desire to stay.
While Gittens would not represent a viable immediate replacement for Salah, particularly as his natural position is on the opposite flank, Liverpool cannot be ruled out of pursuing the youngster as their attacking plans evolve.
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