Who is Jamie Gittens?

Data correct as of 11 March 2025

Jamie Gittens

Age: 20 (born 8 August 2004)
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Left wing
Country: England (11 U21 caps, one goal)

Key stats

Born on 8 August 2004, Gittens grew up in Reading, approximately 45 miles west of London. He signed up with the local youth academy at U9 level - at the club Bayern Munich's Michael Olise previously played for. After rejecting an invitation to switch to Chelsea, he eventually moved north to the Manchester City academy to join the U15s.

The right-footed attacker impressed to such an extent he was regularly fielded in older age categories, and he made his debut for the England U16s in August 2019 less than three weeks after turning 15. He made quite the impression in the starting line-up, too, scoring the opening goal in a 3-3 draw against the Republic of Ireland.

Just a month after that, Gittens was given his first run-out in the U18 Premier League for City, coming off the bench at half-time to score the final goal in a 5-2 win over Liverpool. He moved to Germany in September 2020, and helped the Dortmund U19 team reach the UEFA Youth League quarter-finals in 2021/22 with six goals in five games.

Then came a moment to savour for Gittens, whose journey to Dortmund and the German top flight was rewarded with a senior debut against Wolfsburg on 16 April 2022. He helped England win the European U19 Championship, playing four times in the competition and starting the win over Israel in the final on 1 July 2022, and scored his first Bundesliga goal on Matchday 2 of the 2022/23 season, against Freiburg, on the week of his 18th birthday.

Things have only gone upwards from there for Gittens, who made his first appearances in the UEFA Champions League in 2023/24, scoring away to AC Milan on the way to the final in London, in which he played as a late substitute. He also became an England U21 international in 2023/24, while 2024/25 marked his best season for Bundesliga goal involvements - including a run of five goals in seven matches from November 2024 to January 2025 and a superb strike in a 1-1 Klassiker draw with Bayern. He has a contract with Dortmund through to summer 2028.

Plays a bit like: Karim Adeyemi

Gittens provides an intriguing counterpoint to his fellow Dortmund winger on the opposite flank. While generally not regarded to have quite the same monster pace as the German, the Englishman's top speed after 25 matches of 2024/25 (22.34 mph) is close to matching Adeyemi's and puts him among the ten speediest Bundesliga players, while he was also in the top 20 at the same stage of the season for sprints. Gittens offers exquisite dribbling and trickery in addition to raw pace - making him a near-unstoppable force for opponents when at the peak of his powers. 

Watch: Guirassy & Gittens - Dortmund’s double G-Force

Did you know?

Gittens is also a big cricket fan, having inherited a love for the game from his Barbados-born dad. After Sancho, Bellingham, Leeds-born Erling Haaland and Sunderland-born Gio Reyna, he is the fifth England-born player on Dortmund's books in recent years.

What they're saying

"You need one-on-one players who have speed. He's maturing in his game. We talk a lot about risk and reward. When do I go into the one-on-one, when do I prepare for it? When he gets rolling, he's a fantastic player. He's also made huge strides defensively." - Former Dortmund head coach Nuri Şahin

"He has no fear. For me, he is one of the best players one-against-one I have ever seen, to be honest. He will be a really good player." – Dortmund teammate Karim Adeyemi

"His talent goes without saying. He's got everything needed to take a big step with us here." – Julian Brandt after Gittens made his first start