Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens: Will the English winger finally have his breakout season?

As a club, Borussia Dortmund has often been on the lookout for the next breakout star so that they can have a hand in cultivating and elevating these sorts of players to the next level. These players often have a profound effect on the club during their stints in black and yellow from a sporting, and then financial standpoint.

The "wonderkids” that Dortmund signs are given a chance to shine at the very highest level from a young age and their contributions often show skill on the pitch that identifies them as "ahead of the pack" by quite a few years in terms of development. Jadon Sancho (during his first stint), Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and even going back a decade current head coach Nuri Şahin all go into this category. Barring Haaland, they all played very important roles for their sides despite being relatively new to first-division football and excelled at it.

The question on many people's minds now is, well, who’s next? It’s a question that hasn’t had a clear-cut answer since Jude Bellingham left. For the first time in a very long time, at least from the club’s perspective, they are without a potential "wunderkind". Or are they?

At least at face value, Dortmund, despite not seeing any of their young players hit the same heights as a Sancho, Haaland, or Bellingham (which perhaps is a very big ask), have a slew of talented players with the potential of reaching loftier heights. Among them, is young English winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.

By now-Gittens has been a known quantity for a couple of seasons now, but his contributions on the pitch have been sporadic at best, with spectators only getting to see a glimpse of the talent the youngster possesses. His role over the last few seasons has been mainly off the bench, barring a stretch of starts in the first half of last season under Edin Terzić.

Since the club are now unlikely to make a move for Sancho, (a good friend of Bynoe-Gittens no less) after his loan from Manchester United expired, many seem to think that Bynoe-Gittens will and should be his heir-apparent. While I personally find such direct comparisons, like calling Bynoe-Gittens the “next Sancho”, relatively dangerous in the grand scheme of player development, rhetoric aside and in terms of quality, JBG certainly had the skill set to be able to become an exemplary player for this Dortmund side, and considering he’s had a couple of season under his belt already, I’d expect this to really be the season he makes his mark.

Throughout last season, we saw JBG chip in with 2 goals and 4 assists across 32 games in the Bundesliga and Champions League combined. This totaled to about 1,263 minutes in both competitions. On top of this, the player excelled in terms of progressive carries (5.49) and successful take-ons (3.42) per 90.

The numbers do a good job of painting the initial picture of a player very much capable of really taking his game to the next level. They highlight his ability to be a very tricky, explosive and direct player who works to propel his team’s attacking play forward. All that’s missing however is more of the end product. While we’ve seen JBG go on sublime runs, they don’t always end in a chance created or taken, at least as often as one would like.

In an interview with Sport 1, JBG stated that he’s aware of what he needs to improve on, and certainly hopes that in doing so he can pin down an important role at the club for the upcoming campaign.

"I hope I'm a regular starter. I have to work hard for it. I have to score a lot more goals or make assists."

- Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

JBG has cited Sancho, the player he’s being compared to, as a significant source of advice and knowledge; tools the youngster hopes can help him reach similar lofty heights to those his compatriot reached whilst he was at Dortmund a few years prior:

"I learned a lot from Jadon. For example, that I have to play more often with one or two touches, that I have to offer deep runs more often. And when he plays, he has fun."

- Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

As of right now, JBG seems quite comfortable at Dortmund. The young winger has an open mind and is open to learning and improving. It is this dedication and overall willingness to succeed that will help the player excel at the club.

JBG’s contract with Dortmund, renewed last year, sees him tied to the club until 2028, which is ample time for the player to become a mainstay in the club’s starting 11. He is also now under a coach in Şahin, who understands his situation on a very personal level. If anything at all, the switch from Terzić to Şahin will be a massive opportunity for players like JBG to really excel under a coach who has been in their shoes; who can empathize with them and help them grow by understanding their highs and lows, as well as managing the expectations surrounding their development in a balanced manner that will hopefully help cultivate them into the next stars to light up the Westfalenstadion for years to come.