Jamie Bynoe-Gittens impresses in first start for Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens impressed in his first start for Borussia Dortmund against VfL Bochum on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund may not have much to be proud about with regards to their showing against VfL Bochum this past Saturday, but there was a very exciting silver lining to take from the game despite the defeat. Highly rated winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens got his first start for the senior side, and the young Englishman made quite an impact.

From the very first whistle, Bynoe-Gittens put in a very energetic display down Dortmund’s left flank, often making marauding runs and threatening Bochum’s goal. He almost scored Dortmund’s first goal of the game early on as well.

Aside from the obvious threat Bynoe-Gittens posed out wide for Dortmund, the two aspects of his game that were most impressive, particularly for his age, was how he operated in tight spaces and his overall vision and football IQ.

With regards to the former, Bynoe-Gittens added that element of being able to take players on and dribble past them in very tight situations, which is something Dortmund have missed since Jadon Sancho’s departure.

In terms of the latter, Bynoe-Gittens’ pre-assist for Haaland’s third goal of the game was very intelligent. The pass to Reus was perfectly weighted and delivered with pinpoint accuracy, which is something that makes me think he will play an important role as one of Dortmund’s primary creators starting from next season.

In Borussia Dortmund’s Matchday Review on Sunday, Bynoe-Gittens was very quick to highlight that he strives to bring these qualities to the table for his side:

"“I enjoy just dribbling, having fun, showing my one on one ability to beat players, be direct and create chances.”"

Bynoe-Gittens had no idea he would be in the team until the day before the game, but there was no indication that the young England winger was nervous at all:

"“Yeah, obviously to be fearless thats my thing, to show no nerves on the pitch…it’s part of my life [football], it’s nothing new to me.”"

Bynoe-Gittens also spoke about how difficult it was to deal with the injuries he has had to face since coming to Dortmund from Manchester City. But he also stressed that these setbacks and his overall experiences since joining the club have made him stronger overall.

Looking ahead, it should be safe to say that we can look forward to much more from Bynoe-Gittens. It would be easy to pin the title of the “next Jadon Sancho’ on him, but I think Bynoe-Gittens will write his own story in black and yellow. Chances are by the time he comes into his own, people will know him as a uniquely brilliant player that needs no comparison to underline the talent he so clearly possesses.