New name, more success - Dortmund's youngster Gittens heading for new efficiency

by Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The recent changes in the life of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens happened on the back of his working outfit.

The 20-year-old citizen breed shortened the last name on his shirt to only Gittens and announced that he would run under the new name in the 2024/25 season.

While it was his Barbadian father Mike who asked his son to use his forename, "as it is shorter", the name change seems to stand for further new settings for the footballer. The Borussia Dortmund winger decided to head for more on-pitch efficiency.

"It's a thing I learned from my dear friend Jadon Sancho. One, two contacts followed by a shot," the Black and Yellows youngster said after having secured the teams' victory against Bruges (3-0) in their first 2024/25 UEFA Champions League encounter. New arrival Serhou Guirassy delivered the third goal by a penalty.

Two goals seem a more than satisfying harvest against the Belgium side as they come shortly after his two national league goals against Frankfurt.

Gittens's improvements are seen as an important development step as the youngster is gaining consistency after suffering from performance fluctuations since he joined the BVB in 2020.

On top, the London-born striker surprised teammates and media with his first interviews in German.

"The plan is to turn into a regular over the upcoming months," the gifted upstart said after he spent most of his time as a substitute coming from the bench when things didn't work well for Borussia's attacking line.

The 2024 Champions League final participant's season start under newly promoted head coach Nuri Sahin comes near stiff. In several games, substitutions turned games in the club's favor in the second half.

"We have a squad of good quality and competition is high. The strong bench might be a trademark in this campaign," midfielder Julian Brandt said.

36-year-old Sahin praised Gittens's progress and mentioned the game changers' ability to finish actions successfully both over the left and right flank.

The BVB coach called the young forward "a hard nut to crack if he continues in that way." The 52 times-capped former Turkish international said Gittens is playing "more mature football and has done several games as part of the starting eleven."

He is expecting more to come, he added. "In the past, he always went into dribbling right away, for now, he is considering better-positioned teammates or the decisive cross."

Gittens claims to have learned a lot from his buddy Sancho, who left Dortmund for Chelsea this summer. "I have a lot more fun playing competitive games," he said after he had done additional training sessions with a privately hired coach during the past months.

"I feel a pleasant flow at present. It's now up to me to go on and I am confident, things will work out," the attacker said. ■