Chelsea winger Jamie Gittens says he will be part of Xabi Alonso’s plans next season and hailed the incoming head coach as “one of the best to do it.”
The 21-year-old moved from Borussia Dortmund to Stamford Bridge for £52m last summer but found it hard to make a big impact in his debut campaign.
Asked if Alonso had told him he features in his plans, Gittens said, “Yeah,” adding that the manager wants him to stay positive, take on defenders, create chances, and push himself to the limit.
Gittens said the squad holds Alonso in high regard because of his stellar playing career as a world-class midfielder for clubs including Real Madrid and Liverpool.
He also recalled how difficult it was to face Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Leverkusen won the Bundesliga and German Cup in Alonso’s first full season in charge. “They were really a team,” he said.
Chelsea, by contrast, struggled for cohesion last season, finishing 10th in the Premier League, missing out on Europe, and ending the year without silverware.
Gittens believes new arrivals such as £117m British-record signing Morgan Rogers, a former Manchester City academy teammate, “will raise the bar,” and says Chelsea still aim to “win everything.”
After a hamstring injury in January that ruled him out for the run-in, Gittens has scored in Alonso’s first two behind-closed-doors games against Crawley and Bromley. He says he’s about “90% fit” following a training stint in Portugal and Spain.
“It was tough—it was my first muscle injury,” he admitted. “I’m feeling much better now; the hamstrings are good. I want to succeed here. I need to show people what I can do. I’ve shown small glimpses, but this season will be a good one.”