Winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens first reinforcement for BVB's first team
In his first article for Bulinews, Borussia Dortmund specialist Benjamin McFadyean takes a look at 17-year-old Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.
| Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. | Photo: Borussia Dortmund |
Born in London in 2004, Bynoe-Gittens, whose family has roots in the Caribbean in Barbados, learnt his football at Championship club Reading FC’s Hogwood Park academy, where he started playing as an 8-year-old. Called up to the England Under 16 national team for which he gained 5 caps, he had his debut in August in a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland and has been regarded as one of the ‘best future prospects in the English game’ by then U16 national team coach Justin Cochran.
During the past 20-21 season, Bynoe-Gittens has played his football with the BVB U19 team, but sustained an ankle injury in a friendly against the Athletic Bilbao U19 side in July, which kept the 1.75m winger out for 4 months. However, he has shown impressive promise, scoring 5 goals in 5 matches so far, including a brace against Besiktas in the UEFA Youth League in December.
Bynoe-Gittens 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.
Bynoe-Gittens is represented by the same agent as Sancho and joined the 'Black and Yellows' from Manchester City for a fee in the region of €250,000 — which was a reimbursement for Man City’s training the player rather than an actual transfer fee.
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 have developed a reputation for being a clear path for the development of talent and providing an opportunity to young talents at senior level.
The 1.75m winger will have to compete with the likes of Thorgan Hazard, Julian Brandt and talent Ansgar Knauff for playing time in the senior squad, which he joined on Monday.