Who Is Jamie Bynoe-Gittens?
In recent seasons, German side Borussia Dortmund have had an affiliation with young English talent.
Jadon Sancho burst onto the scene in the 2017-18 season and went on to score 50 goals in 137 appearances for the Schwarzgelben.
More recently, Jude Bellingham, who initially signed for a reported €30 million fee from EFL Championship side Birmingham City, impressed to seal an alleged €103 million move to Real Madrid.
The latest English hot prospect who will be hoping to follow in such footsteps is 19-year-old, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.
Bynoe-Gittens introduction into football started in the Reading academy, before opting for a move to the Manchester City academy from the under-14 level onwards.
In 2020, with his path to the City first-team restricted, he made the bold move to leave English football behind to join Dortmund.
Injury restricted his playing time in the early stages of his Dortmund career, but since the 2021-22 Bundesliga campaign, Bynoe-Gittens has seen an upward trajectory of league appearances.
His form at club level has also recently been rewarded with a debut call-up to the England Under-21 fold.
In this tactical analysis, we will analyse why Dortmund is the perfect club for Bynoe-Gittens to develop his game.
We will also provide an analysis of Bynoe-Gittens displays from last season with his impressive performances from the substitutes bench.
Furthermore, we will look at the Dortmund tactics to determine how the young Englishman will benefit the team, therefore showing why we might expect to see more from the teenager in this campaign.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens Minutes Played
Although the summer transfer window closed for business on 1st September, there has already been media speculation that Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea are showing an interest in Bynoe-Gittens.
However, the young English winger may be wise to stay in Germany, given the ‘young player project’ at Dortmund.
The graph shows that Dortmund have given many more league minutes to players under the age of 20 compared to the average Premier League side, in each of the last five seasons.
This suggests there is more opportunity for younger players to get much-needed game time on the continent.
This in turn is likely to positively impact the professional development of these youngsters.
Previous graduates of the Dortmund project include Bellingham, Sancho, Achraf Hakimi, Erling Haaland, and Christian Pulisic.
Moreover, those under 20 who have featured for Dortmund’s first team in the last five seasons have accumulated transfer fees of more than €300 million for the Schwarzgelben to pocket.
Four of these players have demanded transfer fees of more than €50 million.
Such high transfer fees indicate that the Bundesliga side doesn’t just give youngsters games for the sake of it, but actually develops these players into world-class individuals.
Bynoe-Gittens own development at Dortmund is noticeable.
He first made his Bundesliga debut in April 2022 and made 15 appearances in the league for the former German champions last campaign.
11 of those 15 appearances came from the substitutes bench.
He has made the starting XI once this season, having undergone surgery for a shoulder injury in the summer.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens Style Of Play – Super sub with quick feet
Despite only making four starts in the Bundesliga last season, the impact of Bynoe-Gittens performances was felt last season.
Head Coach Edin Terzić described the 19-year-old as a “game-changer in the truest sense”.
The pizza chart shows that even though Bynoe-Gittens featured for 593 minutes in the league last season, he ranked extremely highly for attacking credentials when compared to other left-wingers in tier one.
It is shown that he had more shots per 90 as well as more dribbles per 90 than 98% of other left-wingers in the top division last season.
He scored 0.51 goals per 90 last season in the league and this rate was bettered only by three other players in the Dortmund squad.
However, Bynoe-Gittens converted only 13% of his shots suggesting improvement will be required in order to add a more clinical touch to his game.
Nevertheless, the teenager did impress with his dribbling ability and caused problems in the opposition’s defensive penalty area.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens Penetrating Carries
The above graphic testifies Bynoe-Gittens ability to drive forward with the ball.
It is illustrated that on occasions the youngster has carried the ball forward from deep in the attacking half into the penalty area.
The English winger made 3.05 carries into the penalty area per 90 last season which was bettered only by two other players in the entire Bundesliga.
In the Bundesliga last campaign, he recorded 1.52 goal-creating actions per 90.
This high figure suggests the positive impact he had from his cameos off the bench last season.
Such impressive displays included the 4-3 win over Augsburg in January 2023.
The match still shows Bynoe-Gittens receiving the ball from Nico Schlotterbeck on the left-hand side.
Upon receipt of the ball, the youngster dribbled at the defender before cutting inside and eventually getting a shot away.
His effort subsequently led to a goal to give Dortmund the lead with 15 minutes of the match remaining.
It is demonstrated that Bynoe-Gittens was able to influence matches last season when he was only 18 years of age.
Such influence is made even more impressive considering he often came off the bench where it can be difficult to adjust to the rhythm of matches.
Moreover, this will undoubtedly have aided his professional development, playing against more experienced players.
Although positives can be drawn from Bynoe-Gittens performances last season, the previous pizza chart shows there is much room for improvement in some departments such as winning defensive duels and passing ability.
His low ranking for passing ability suggests he can be poor with decision-making.
However, it should be noted that given the numerous runs into the penalty area that he looks to make in games, it would be inevitable that passes will go astray, especially if the box is congested.
Nevertheless, given the English forwards young age, there is still scope for his reading of the game to improve as well as for him to develop physically.
The strengths that Bynoe-Gittens possesses though cannot be ignored and they can be used to Dortmund’s advantage in this 2023/24 season.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens Positioning
Dortmund pushed Bayern Munich to the wire last season in the Bundesliga title race.
There has been dismay in the media about a disappointing summer transfer window.
However, with not too many arrivals at the Westfalenstadion, it does pave the way for youngsters like Bynoe-Gittens to impress.
For the majority of last season, Dortmund operated in a 4-2-3-1 formation but did have a tendency to be fluid in their approach.
In addition, Dortmund looked to utilise the relationship between a wide full-back and a more inverted winger and vice versa as well as incorporate one-touch passing movements.
The fluid approach has been the theme this season with numerous different formations having been used in the Bundesliga.
The 4-2-3-1 formation has remained the favoured formation however, followed by the 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1 formations.
Left-back Raphaël Guerreiro departed for rivals Bayern in the summer and will be a loss to the Schwarzgelben this season.
Ramy Bensebaini was brought in as a replacement from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Although Bensebaini doesn’t tend to play as wide as his predecessor, there will be hopes that the Algerian left-back can develop a partnership with a left winger over time.
The concept of playing the full-backs out wide, allows the winger more freedom to roam inside the pitch.
This style of play conforms with Bynoe-Gittens strengths.
Although, Bynoe-Gittens plays on the left wing, he likes to invert inside, allowing him to link up or get a shot away with his preferred right foot.
This was demonstrated previously with the goal against Augsburg last season.
However, Bynoe-Gittens is still adept with his weaker left foot.
The left winger received the ball out wide and dribbled towards the defender, showing quick feet.
However, on this occasion instead of opting to cut inside, he advanced on his weaker left side and successfully went past the defender.
He delivered the ball into the area and it was cleared for a corner.
The above match stills demonstrates the youngster’s quick feet.
As Bynoe-Gittens is comfortable striking either with his left or right, it makes it harder for the opposition defender to anticipate which way the youngster will go.
Moreover, when Bynoe-Gittens opts to drift inside, he draws the opposing defender to follow.
Similarly, Bynoe-Gittens has received the ball out wide on the left.
The English youngster quickly cuts inside, drawing the defender in who has gone in with a tackle.
However, the tackle is unsuccessful and Dortmund retains possession.
The above graphic shows that as the Leipzig defender has tracked Bynoe-Gittens, space has been created on the left side channel for the Schwarzgelben to exploit.
Furthermore, when moving inside, the London-born youngster has also demonstrated his ability to pick out difficult passes in the opposition penalty area.
The match still shows that Bynoe-Gittens is in possession of the ball centrally and he dribbles towards the goal.
The teenager used his pace to draw in the defenders, before releasing a through ball into the penalty area.
Julian Brandt made a run into the area to get on the end of the pass and went on to score Dortmund’s fourth goal of the match.
Dortmund have averaged 58.7% possession in the league so far this season which is bettered only by Bayern Munich.
Such dominance on the ball may lead to the opposition soaking up pressure this season.
Therefore, Dortmund may find it harder to break teams down.
However, with Bynoe-Gittens ability to pick out difficult passes and through balls in the final third, the task of breaking down such opposition may become an easier one.
The 19-year-old could prove valuable for the German side this campaign due to his versatility.
Although Bynoe-Gittens predominantly plays on the left he has been known to switch to the right-hand side too, therefore, demonstrating how the youngster conforms with Dortmund’s fluidity.
Another asset of the former City Academy prospect is speed.
Last season in the Bundesliga, he recorded a top speed of 35.97km/h, placing him in the top 10 fastest players in the league.
Such quickness could make him lethal on the counterattack and a good prospect to link up with either of the current Dortmund forwards Sébastien Haller and Niclas Füllkrug.
Sébastien Haller Pass Map
The graphic above shows Haller has often played passes in the opposite direction to the attacking goal this season.
Haller is a strong forward whose intelligent hold-up play, with his back to goal, can draw opposition defenders out of position, providing space for his teammates, such as Bynoe-Gittens, to exploit.
Füllkrug, a new arrival having finished top scorer in the Bundesliga with 16 goals for Werder Bremen last season, has equally shown he can drop into a deeper role like Haller to initiate attacking movements.
Bynoe-Gittens’ ability to accelerate could certainly help Dortmund in such attacking phases of play.
The teenager’s speed could also be used to good effect from a defensive perspective and help to improve this aspect of his game.
There were glimpses of improvement defensively by Bynoe-Gittens in the recent 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg.
In this instance, after a good save by the goalkeeper, the Wolfsburg defence hooked the ball clear.
Bynoe-Gittens used his speed to his advantage to track back and showed strength in the duel with the advancing opposition player.
Bynoe-Gittens was able to draw a foul to win a free kick for his side and the Wolfsburg counterattack was successfully halted.
It is noted, at still only 19 years of age, Bynoe-Gittens is far from his physical peak so defensively there is still plenty of time to improve but his speed will be beneficial, particularly in breaking down such counterattacks.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens Vs Karim Adeyemi
A teammate vying for a starting place on the left wing ahead of Bynoe-Gittens is Karim Adeyemi.
Adeyemi beat the young Englishman for pace last season, and was the fastest in the division, recording a top speed of 36.65km/h.
However, questions have been raised recently about the consistency of the 21-year-old German.
Bynoe-Gittens has played fewer minutes than Adeyemi this season and is outperforming his teammate per 90 minutes for progressive carries, key passes, and shot-creating actions.
However, Bynoe-Gittens has had fewer shots on target, further demonstrating an element of his game that he could improve.
Whether Bynoe-Gittens will become a regular starter remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, if the youngster can keep fit, it is evident that given more game time, Bynoe-Gittens could add real value to the Dortmund team.
Conclusion
In this tactical analysis, we have demonstrated that compared to an average Premier League side, more opportunities are given to youngsters at Dortmund.
It has been demonstrated that the Schwarzgelben are willing to put faith in the youth setup.
We have also highlighted the impressive displays and the positive impact that Bynoe-Gittens was able to make from the bench last season.
With the youngster having so much potential, an insight into the Dortmund tactics has been reviewed to assess how the 19-year-old can use his strengths to be a real asset this season.
Whilst it has been shown that there is no guarantee that the Englishman will be a regular in the starting XI each week, we have identified why we could be seeing the teenager on a more regular basis this campaign.
If so, Bynoe-Gittens may one day follow in others’ footsteps from the Dortmund young player project and become the talk of the transfer tabloids back in his homeland.
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