Niko Kovač reportedly dissuaded Bayern from signing Jamie Gittens last summer

The BVB head coach apparently informed Bayern that the Englishman was not up to their standards, which set them onto the path for Luis Díaz.

Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images.

Sport BILD has revealed that Borussia Dortmund's Niko Kovač advised Bayern Munich against signing one of his players last summer. 

Ahead of the recently concluded 2025-26 season, the Bavarians were in hot pursuit of talented Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. 

Despite a deal almost being reached by both parties, the Spanish international ultimately decided to stay with the Basque club and pen a new deal. 

According to the report, Bayern Munich's attention swiftly turned to their Bundesliga rivals from Westphalia and the talented Jamie Gittens. 

However, Bayern's supervisory board, including both Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, was skeptical about the player. 

A club employee was tasked with contacting Niko Kovač to get an honest opinion from him about the sought after English youngster. 

The BVB head coach is said to have made it more than clear that he considers the Englishman "not professional enough" to succeed at Bayern. 

As a result, the Bavarians then abandoned the pursuit of Gittens and went all in on Luis Díaz, while Gittens ultimately ended up joining Chelsea.