Bundesliga
Gittens: The latest Brit developing at Dortmund
Jamie Gittens is just the third Englishman to play for Borussia Dortmund and is well on his way to emulating the feats of illustrious predecessors Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho after an impressive start to the 2024/25 season.
Gittens has become an integral part of Dortmund’s side this season, scoring important goals in the Bundesliga and in the UEFA Champions League, which have put him in the spotlight as one of Europe’s brightest up and coming youngsters.
Having moved to Dortmund from Manchester City’s academy in 2020, Gittens has naturally received comparisons with former City youngster and Dortmund fan-favourite Sancho. The Chelsea winger had two spells with BVB (2017-2021, 2024), scoring 53 goals in 158 games, winning the DFB Cup in 2020/21 and then reaching the Champions League final alongside Gittens in the 2023/24 season.
Their time together proved to be fruitful, especially for Gittens, who says he learnt “a lot of things” from Sancho during his loan spell back at the club, including: "The way he combines with players, lots of one-twos, combination play, oOff-the-ball movements, when to dribble, when to pass, his vision for a pass. Lots of things that I’ve learnt in six months from him, because he’s a top player."
That 2020/21 DFB Cup winning team contained another up and coming English talent at the time in none other than Bellingham. The Birmingham-born midfielder made 132 appearances in three years at the Signal Iduna Park before his blockbuster move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2023.
It’s not just his on-field exploits that have drawn comparisons between Gittens and former Dortmund stars Sancho and Bellingham though; his down-to-earth interviews have also made him popular amongst the fans, with his enthusiasm for the game and Dortmund clear for all to see.
Watch: The best of Gittens in the Bundesliga
Since making his debut for Dortmund’s first team on Matchday 30 of the 2021/22 season when he came on as a substitute against Wolfsburg, Gittens - or Bynoe-Gittens as he was still known back then - has gone on to make 77 appearances in all competitions for the club. In that time, he has contributed 13 goals and 13 assists, whilst also exciting fans with his daring dribbles, work rate and a love for the game that is impossible not to notice.
Gittens is a player that gets fans off their seats and has managed to bring joy to the Signal Iduna Park even during difficult times. Last season, he was a bright spark in a Bundesliga season that ultimately fell short of expectations given how close the Black-Yellows came to the title in 2022/23. His performances at the end of the campaign provided enough evidence for him to be given more opportunities this term, and he’s certainly made the most of them!
Gittens has started in eight out of 12 league games this season, four out of five in the Champions League and both of their DFB Cup ties.
Watch: Jamie Gittens cutting onto his right foot
A change of coach from Edin Terzić to Nuri Şahin has not hindered his development, with the former Dortmund midfielder and current boss being full of praise for him and his rate of improvement: “He’s a very important player for us. Jamie himself wants to take the next step, and we want him to take that step. Now he’s scoring goals and playing more mature football. It’s not news to me that he’s incredible one-on-one and is a very good finisher.”
The Reading-born star’s development over these past couple of seasons has unsurprisingly not gone unnoticed, with talk over a possible England call-up starting to get louder as the weeks go by.
So far, Gittens has collected 11 caps for England’s U21 side, scoring once. With Thomas Tuchel now in charge of the Three Lions, a coach who will be well aware of Gittens from his time working in the Bundesliga, there’s every chance it could come soon.