Earlier this month, Chelsea completed the £51.5m deal to sign Borussia Dortmund’s wing wizard Jamie Gittens. The 20-year-old English youngster has committed to a 7-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
In recent times, Dortmund have been providing a platform for exciting English talents, and Jamie Gittens is the latest in that production line.
FootballOrbit brings you all you need to know about Chelsea’s latest recruit.
Background
While his full name is Jamie Jermaine Bynoe-Gittens, he is popularly known as Jamie Gittens. He was born on the 8th of August 2004 in Reading, Berkshire, England —approximately 45 miles west of London.
Gittens is the son of Michael Bynoe-Gittens, a renowned Barbadian cricket player. Gittens is the younger brother of social media influencer, Chanté Bynoe-Gittens.
In August 2024, it was announced that he would play under the surname “Gittens”, rather than “Bynoe-Gittens” as he had previously used. Gittens explained that his father had suggested it as it is shorter, although both parts of the name come from his father.
Jamie Gittens: Where it all began
Gittens started his football career with local side Caversham Trents — the same academy Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise also came through — at the age of five, and stayed until he was seven.
Thereafter, he joined Reading, and also spent a brief period time at Chelsea. At under-9 level, he chose to remain with Reading, and stayed there until under-14 level, before joining Manchester City’s academy.
After two years with Man City, German giants, Borrusia Dortmund poached Gittens in 2020. The Bundesliga side were able to lure the youngster from Manchester City by promising him a better path of fast tracking his development — following the success of Jadon Sancho, who had earlier toed exactly the same path.
Interestingly, Jamie Gittens now replaces Jadon Sancho at Chelsea after the latter’s departure at the end of his loan spell from Manchester United.
Jamie Gittens at Borrusia Dortmund
Initially, Gittens’ career at Dortmund was hampered by not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but a torn ligament injury that kept him out for a long time.
2021/22
However, the 2021/22 season favoured better for Gittens. He impressed in Dortmund’s UEFA Youth League campaign. At the tournament, he scored six goals in four games — including two against Manchester United.
Furthermore, he helped Dortmund win the league title at that youth level with a 2-1 victory over Hertha Berlin in the final, where he was on the scoresheet.
Meanwhile, he also started the Junior DFB Cup final against Stuttgart that ended in a 2-1 triumph.
Jamie Gittens Breaks Into Dortmund’s Senior Team (2022/23)
However, the winger’s exploits at youth level did not go unnoticed, as he was duly promoted to the first-team squad by head coach Marco Rose in April 2022.
Gittens made his Bundesliga debut in a 6-1 win over Wolfsburg on the 16th of April 2022. He impressed enough to be started in two subsequent games.
Rose glowingly praised the newfound talent after starting him for the first time, saying:
“He gives us something we are lacking, something that we don’t have in our squad. He still has to get used to the pace of the Bundesliga. Still, he did really well and it was a very good game.”
Gittens scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3-1 away win against Freiburg on the 12th of August 2022.
On the 16th of August, he extended his contract until June 2025.
In February 2023, he made his UEFA Champions League debut, coming off the bench in the 79th minute in a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the round of 16 first leg.
At the end of his first season in the senior team, the budding youngster played 20 matches, netted 3 goals and laid an assist.
2023/24
After struggling with injuries in his first two seasons, the 2023/24 season was Gittens’ first at Dortmund where he remained injury free — making 25 appearances in the Bundesliga.
On the 28th of November 2023, Jamie scored his first Champions League goal and provided an assist in a 3-1 away win over Milan, which secured his side’s qualification to the knockout phase.
Dortmund went on to reach the 2024 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, in which Gittens appeared as a late substitute replacing his countryman Jadon Sancho in the 87th minute of the loss to Real Madrid.
At the end of that season, he made 34 appearances, scored 2 goals and provided 8 assists in all competitions.
2024/25
On the opening day of the 2024/25 Bundesliga, Gittens scored twice as a substitute to give Dortmund a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, in new coach Nuri Şahin’s first league game.
Also, in the opening game of Dortmund’s Champions League campaign, Gittens again came off the bench to score twice and was named Man of the Match in a 3-0 win away to Club Brugge.
Last season was his best in terms goal involvement. He particularly enjoyed a run of five goals in seven matches in the Bundesliga from November 2024 to January 2025.
His highlight of the season was a breathtaking solo goal to open the scoring against Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker, where his mesmerising pace was in full display.
Furthermore, Jamie Gittens became more influential for Dortmund. Only Serhou Guirassy managed more goals (21) and shots (90) in the Bundesliga for the club than Gittens’ (8) and (53) respectively.
It was the same story in terms of duels won – Guirassy edged out his teammate with 264 to 242.
At the end of the season, the wing wizard had amassed 49 games, notched 12 goals and provided 5 assists.
Ultimately, after spending five seasons at Dortmund, the 20-year-old Englishman scored 17 goals and provided 14 assists in 107 senior appearances for the Bundesliga club.
Chelsea get Gittens!
Chelsea signed Jamie Gittens on the 5th of July 2025 on a seven-year contract for a fee of £48.5 million, with £3.5 million to potentially be paid in add-ons.
Earlier, the Blues saw two offers turned down on the eve of the FIFA Club World Cup to sign the U-21 England international from Dortmund. Gittens then travelled with Dortmund to the United States to play the tournament with the Black and Yellows.
International Career
Jamie Gittens is of Barbadian descent and is a dual citizen. However, the winger has represented England at numerous youth levels from U-15 to U-21.
In 2022, he helped England win the UEFA Euro U-19 title, playing four times in the competition and starting the win over Israel in the final.
The 20-year-old is still yet to receive a call up to the senior team. This means that he has now become the most expensive uncapped Englishman ever.
Jamie Gittens: Style of Play
Though predominantly a left winger, Gittens is comfortable playing on either flank and can also feature as a no. 10, as well as in a deeper role across the midfield.
He is a typical wing wizard who relishes one-on-one battles with full-backs as he looks to create opportunities to cut inside and shoot on his favoured right foot or go on the outside to cross.
Gittens is also extremely fast; his top speed of 35.96km/h was the 16th-fastest clocked in the German top flight last season.
Moreover, his repertoire of skills includes exquisite dribbling and trickery — in addition to raw pace — making him a near-unstoppable force for opponents when at the peak of his powers.
What is expect from Jamie Gittens at Chelsea?
Jamie Gittens had emerged as a fully-fledged star at Borussia Dortmund, following in the footsteps of compatriots, Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, by making a name for himself at the Black and Yellows.
The youngster’s style of play is perfectly suited to the tactics of Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca. The Italian likes his wingers to stay high and wide in attack. From there, they are expected to be direct with their dribbling and provide a goal threat.
As a matter of fact, no Bundesliga player attempted more dribbles in 2024/25 than the 171 of Gittens.
Gittens would join the likes of Liam Delap, Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Estevao, Nicholas Jackson and Pedro Neto to bolster Chelsea’s attack
