Who is Jamie Bynoe-Gittens? The latest English prodigy off the Borussia Dortmund conveyor belt
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens is yet another exciting young star to hone his talents in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
Jacque Talbot of Footballtransfers.com runs the rule over this precocious teenager and tells us just why he is a player to watch.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens has emerged as yet another special English talent to find stardom at Borussia Dortmund, following in the illustrious footsteps of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
The exciting 18-year-old winger was brought up in Reading and soon caught the eye of Chelsea, who he rejected in favour of a move to Manchester City.
Bynoe-Gittens joined the under-15 team at the renowned City academy, before making his debut for the England U16 team less than three weeks after his 15th birthday.
A free transfer to the Bundesliga would follow in 2020, and since then this prodigious young talent has provided a tantalising glimpse into what should be a very bright future.
How much is Jamie Bynoe-Gittens worth?
Bynoe-Gittens is already worth €15.4million according to our xTV (Expected Transfer Value) metric, headed on the same northerly trajectory which Sancho and Bellingham both travelled.
Bellingham of course has gone to become a true superstar and looks set to join Real Madrid during this summer transfer window. Sancho meanwhile joined Manchester United in a massive move after also lighting up the Bundesliga while in Dortmund.
Bynoe-Gittens made his senior debut for BVB against Wolfsburg in April 2022, while he has shone for England at youth level as well.
Last season, the Englishman played 526 minutes of Bundesliga football. In that time he scored three goals and provided one assist. That is one goal contribution every 131.5 minutes - not bad going for someone so young.
The 18-year-old is contracted at Dortmund until 2025 and there is no doubt his club will want to keep hold of him for a little while longer, especially with Bellingham set to bring in an enormous transfer fee this summer.
Bynoe-Gittens is much more likely to move in in the next couple of years when his value has increased - no club would be prepared to pay the amount Dortmund would ask for at this point, especially as he is so raw.
Bynoe-Gittens has garnered high praise from Dortmund's head coach, Edin Terzic, notably after he made a very special cameo appearance during an incredible second-half comeback against SC Freiburg last season.
“With him, it’s basically quite simple: he has the ability to decide games,” Terzic told DAZN.
1⃣8⃣ years old 😲
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 23, 2023
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens take a bow 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/NQs1sCaQOL
“He’s a game-changer - and that’s what I wanted to see from him.
“In the first half, we had a few spaces between the lines where we were stuck in the back line for too long. Jamie, however, is someone who can get in there and open things up with his first touch - and, above all, speed the game up again.”
“That’s how we had imagined it. He livened up the game very well and was involved in a lot of good offensive actions.”
Strengths and weaknesses
Bynoe-Gittens is a right-footed winger who is mostly deployed on the left.
In terms of his playing style, he aligns mostly the role of a wide playmaker and inside forward. He regularly receives the ball in the half-space between the opposition’s defenders and creates chances from both wide and central areas.
When in possession of the ball, he is often involved around the penalty area, both in build-up play and cutting inside through dribbles.
Jamie has developed rapidly over the past six months after properly breaking through to become a regular part of Dortmund’s matchday squad.
Although he has still played less than 600 league minutes, he has an impressive 0.61 goal + assists P90, and is outperforming his xG + xA (0.47).
According to our performance metrics, he is excelling at all the actions which are must-haves in a high-quality winger. Bynoe-Gittens’ positioning in the half-space and final third is very impressive for someone who is just 18.
This makes it easier for team-mates to find him.
His stand-out quality is dribbling, he does very well at carrying the ball, cutting inside, beating an opponent and driving into the box. He is not afraid at all to take on defenders, meaning his overall success rate in that department is not especially high.
In the opposition danger zones, Bynoe-Gittens backs himself and attempts a lot of shots per 90 minutes and is particularly good from long range.
He also has it in his locker to bring others into play in and around the box and create chances with his passing.
Hey, @jbgittens coming through ⏩ pic.twitter.com/OMbyVwdvHu
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) February 22, 2023
The defensive side of Bynoe-Gittens’ game still needs work, although he once again shows maturity in his tracking back and defending against opposition wingers and full-backs.
If you are looking for comparisons, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Martinelli both have a similar playing style to the young Englishman.
Bynoe-Gittens takes more shots and attempts more dribbles per 90 minutes than either, but needs to get better at passing, crossing and being more involved in the final third if he wants to follow in their footsteps and reach the elite level.
Right now though he is at a higher level than both Sane and Martinelli were at the same age, high praise indeed.
He truly is a young player with the world at his feet.