Borussia Dortmund have made a habit of pinching exciting young English players and turning them into superstars.
After taking Jadon Sancho from Manchester City's academy in 2017 – for a paltry €10 million compensation fee – and turning the winger into one of the most highly-touted forwards in world football, the German giants paid €25m to snatch Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City in 2020.
Sancho has since been sold back to the Premier League, with Manchester United paying more than €90m to take him to Old Trafford in 2021, while Bellingham has been linked with even bigger moves abroad this summer.
Should the England international also leave, Dortmund would still have one promising young Englishman in their ranks, however: 18 year old forward Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. London-born Bynoe-Gittens turned down a deal to stay at Man City's academy to follow Sancho and Bellingham to the Westfalenstadion last July, and has quickly developed a reputation as a youngster for the big moment.
The teenager came off the bench to score what proved the winning goal in a 3-1 win in Freiburg at the start of December – a stunning curling effort into the far corner of Mark Flekken's net. He then scored Borussia Dortmund's third in a nail-biting 4-3 win over Augsburg in January before bagging another winner in the 2-0 victory over Bremen last weekend. Following the latter, the winger paid tribute to a hero of his, Marcus Rashford, by copying his goal celebration.
He's been tipped for superstardom by Dortmund gaffer Edin Terzic. "With Jamie it couldn't be simpler: he has the ability to turn matches on their heads," the 40 year old said after the player's Freiburg screamer in December. "He's a game changer, and that's what we want to see from him. Not that he simply gets games under his belt, but that he makes the difference in those matches. He's been doing that recently. He's a fantastic talent."
Capable of playing on either wing and blessed with stunning pace, close control and a ferocious shot, Bynoe-Gittens has often been introduced late into games to run flagging opponents ragged or when the Black and Yellows are desperate for a goal. Slowly, though, he's being trusted to play a larger role.
Bynoe-Gittens has made nine Bundesliga appearances so far, scoring three times, as well as two DFB-Pokal outings, and has timed his recent emergence well for the return of Champions League fixtures. If the chips are down, you can bet on Terzic summoning his latest English starlet from the bench.
