Borussia Dortmund have yet another English wonderkid at their disposal.
The beaten 2023/24 Champions League finalists helped Jadon Sancho hone his craft before an ill-fated, big-money switch to Manchester United. Before the move to Old Trafford, the versatile winger was being courted by Europe's elite after catching the eye as a teenager for the German giants.
His decision to move from the Manchester City academy to the Westfalenstadion was something of a sliding doors moment. He was reportedly offered a first-team deal at the Etihad but wanted first-team football. Dortmund sold him on that and delivered on their promise. In doing so, they allowed him to deliver on his promise.
That didn’t necessarily open the floodgates but it did change perspectives for youngsters coming through the ranks at big clubs in England.
Young players were no longer scared to move abroad to further their careers.
Jude Bellingham followed suit, switching Championship football with Birmingham City for Champions League football with BVB.
Prior to his €100 million move to Real Madrid, Bellingham won the Bundesliga Player of the Year award for his exploits with Dortmund during the 2022/23 campaign.
And now Dortmund have another great English hope within their ranks in the form of Jamie Gittens.
He’s been likened to Bellingham but his story is closer to that of Sancho’s. The versatile forward swapped the Manchester City academy for a stint in the Dortmund youth team in 2020. He made his debut for the Black and Yellow in 2022. Now in 2024, he’s been a fairly pivotal part in Nuri Sahin’s start to life as the new Dortmund manager.
Gittens was the difference-maker in the Champions League opener against Club Brugge. The 20-year-old started the game on the bench and was brought on in the second half with the scoreline reading 0-0.
The game finished 3-0 with Gittens finding the back of the net on two occasions. He completely transformed the game for the away side. To go alongside his two goals, he also carved out one opportunity, completed 92% of his attempted passes and attempted four dribbles.
Jamie Gittens, what a talent 🤩
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 18, 2024
The young English winger makes it 𝘁𝘄𝗼 goals in ten minutes 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/pA30Kb4kcT
His introduction turned the game on its head.
Against Real Madrid, his departure turned the game on its head.
Gittens scored against the reigning champions to put the visitors 2-0 up. He also completed 75% of his attempted dribbles and won four of his six duels in Spain. Sahin then made the decision to go a little conservative and replaced the explosive ball-carrier with a defender after just 55 minutes.
Dortmund eventually lost 5-2.
He also had two goals and two assists in the Bundesliga this term as, at the time of writing, Sahin’s team find themselves in fifth position.
His early-season form means Gittens is no longer going under the radar.
Spurs are believed to be keen on the 20-year-old while Liverpool and Chelsea are also reportedly keeping tabs. Football Insider recently claimed the German side would sell for €50million. Given they got ridiculous money for Sancho and Bellingham, this price tag feels fairly reasonable, all things considered.
Clubs might be tempted to move for him sooner rather than later, before his value spikes and it becomes even more difficult to pry him away from the Bundesliga club. Right now, he’s ranked 16th on the FootballCritic Golden Boy list while Football Transfers has him as the 12th most valuable player aged 21 or under.
Gittens has the potential to eclipse what Sancho has achieved and he’s got the right sort of profile for a number of top clubs. Unlike Sancho, the 20-year-old seems like the type to pick his next move carefully. It won’t be long before he’s terrorising Premier League defenders and is part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
