17-year-old versatile winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens is, if Dortmund’s main newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten, is to be believed, on the cusp of making his debut for the first-team squad, even if it comes in the absence of Donyell Malen who has a slight muscular issue, is an impressive achievement for a player that was only promoted to the first team three months ago.
But who is Borussia Dortmund’s new English star in the making and can he step into Jadon Sancho’s shoes?
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens hails from the highly-rated Manchester City Academy, the MCFC Elite Development Squad, which has a reputation for being one of the best in Europe and has produced talents like Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ryan Giggs, Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho.
Born in London in 2004, Bynoe-Gittens, whose family has roots in the Caribbean in Barbados, learnt his football at Championship club Reading’s Hogwood Park academy where he started playing as an eight-year-old.
Capped three times at the Under 16 level, Gittens has been called up to England Under 19 national team for which he made his debut in a 2-3 loss against Sweden in March. Bynoe-Gittens is regarded as one of the ‘best future prospects in the English game’ by national team coach, former Queens Park Rangers defender Justin Cochran.
During his time at Manchester City in the 2019/20 season, Bynoe-Gittens split his playing time between City’s Under 16 and Under 18 teams, accumulating an impressive 12 goals and eight assists. Gittens who can play on both the left and right wing, joined BVB’s Under 19 squad who play their football in the Bundesliga-West in January 2020.
Bynoe-Gittens’s progress was hampered during the 21/22 season due to a torn-ankle ligament injury which kept him out of BVB’s development squad for three months. Since joining he has racked up 13 games and scored 10 goals and 3 assists across all competitions notably an impressive brace of the opening goal and lead in the 5-3 (pens) win at Leigh Sport village against Manchester United in the UEFA Youth League.
In terms of profile, the young Londoner is fast and has great ball control. The fact of being ambidextrous makes him even more unpredictable for his opponent, as he excels in one on ones.
Analysis of match footage shows a player who is strong in tight spaces, where he has gained a reputation for his creativity on the ball. The physically strong, 1.75m tall youth player likes to play on the wide left, converging into the centre is an effective finisher with good crossing ability, especially from the left side of the field.
But in terms of dribbling ability, close control, an abundance of tricks and a willingness to take on defenders as part of a drive towards goal, Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar is arguably the best current example of a right-footer on the left-wing. The Dortmund youngster is obviously not at the same level yet, but he’s catching up fast and BVB fans have a lot to look forward to.
Following in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, Bynoe-Gittens is the third English top talent to find his way to the Westfalenstadion. Borussia Dortmund has developed a reputation for being a clear path for the development of talent and providing an opportunity to young talents at the senior level.
The young winger who is rumoured to be a huge fan of the West Indies cricket team, was promoted to the first-team squad in January and competes with the likes of Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt for playing time in the senior squad.
