Who is Borussia Dortmund's wonderkid Jamie Bynoe-Gittens? | OneFootball

The name Jamie Bynoe-Gittens may mean little to some, but for the Football Manager fanatics out there, the 18-year-old Londoner will be a familiar profile. The Bundesliga has recently transitioned into a home-from-home for young British talent. It has become a hotbed for prospective prodigies to harness, ameliorate, and nurture their abilities and reputations away from the cynical eye of the British football fan. From Jadon Sancho, Reiss Nelson, and Ethan Ampadu to arguably the biggest England to Germany case study, Jude Bellingham, there are many examples of players in the infancy of their careers opting for progression over stagnating their development by warming benches at Premier League clubs.

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Jamie Bynoe-Gittens finds himself nominated for this year's prestigious Golden Boy Award, the same accolade won by the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, and Erling Haaland to name a few. Although, the young Dortmund star is certainly not expected to scoop the award, the fact his name is even in the conversation is an encouraging sign. With him being in with a shot at Europe's most esteemed individual prize for under-21 footballing excellence, who exactly is the silky winger whose been compared to Neymar, and what can we expect from him?

Jamie Bynoe-Gittens' career so far

Initially on the books at both Reading and Manchester City, Bynoe-Gittens followed the well-travelled road of Bellingham and Sancho before him, to the historically industrious city of Dortmund, the former epicentre of Germany’s coal and steel industry. Bynoe-Gittens arrived in the North Rhine-Westphalia region bearing his own raw materials, while also looking to the city’s biggest manufacturer of footballing talent for the steel framework to build his professional career, and the coal to ignite his ambitions.

Venturing over to Dortmund at just 16 years old to join up with the club’s youth setup, the left-winger’s first season was hampered by a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and a season-ending ankle ligament injury. Returning with the bit between his teeth, the forward appeared five times in the 21-22 UEFA Youth League, finding the net on six occasions, with his form subsequently leading to a call-up to Marco Rose’s first-team squad.

Following a tremendous debut season sporting the famous yellow and black of BVB, albeit mostly running out for their under-19s squad, the 2022-23 campaign saw the England under-19 international become a frequent component of the Borussia Dortmund side that was 90 minutes away from its first league title in 11 years. The former Cityzen racked up 20 appearances in all competitions last season, including making his Champions League curtain-raiser, a major milestone in any fledgling footballer’s career.

Recording a return of three166 minutes, a productive and promising yield for a player with limited experience in football at such a level.

Injury concerns

At such a young age, the occurrence of long-term injury is far less prevalent, however for Bynoe-Gittens his record for time spent in the treatment room paints a slightly concerning picture for a player who just turned 19. Having missed 29 games over the last two seasons through a combination of ankle and shoulder issues, question marks will be raised over whether his injuries are merely a case of torrid luck, or whether his body is prone to such habitual breakdown. From Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Jack Wilshere, we have seen many a propitious talent fizzle out into a perpetual cycle of long-term rehabilitation, short-term returns, and recurring injury.

Is Bynoe-Gittens worthy of the hype?

While Jamie is Bynoe-means the finished article, his rapid rise through the Dortmund ranks has sailed massively under the radar among the cult of English football fandom. As such, he remains somewhat of an unknown quantity on these shores, but if his maiden season is anything to go by, with a longer run of games ahead without injury, and more game time, the future looks bright for the lad who once declared "I'm going to try and make a name for myself".