- Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens has decided to give up half his surname this season
- The 20-year-old superstar was called Bynoe-Gittens until this year
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Borussia Dortmund seem to have a knack for signing young English players and developing them into world-class players.
First it was Jadon Sancho’s turn, followed by Jude Bellingham and now the iconic yellow wall has found a new English talent to adore.
The name of 20-year-old Jamie Gittens was lit up with lights after the German team’s opening Champions League match against Brugge. The English striker scored twice in a 3-0 win.
Gittens has enjoyed a cracking start to the 2024-25 season with Nuri Sahin’s side, with the Englishman’s two goals this week already his second of the season.
Fans who have been following the youngster for a while will have noticed that he has a new name on the back of his shirt, halving his own name.
Jamie Gittens has changed the name on his kit for the upcoming season
The 20-year-old sensation decided to drop half of his last name at the request of his family
Gittens’ first name is Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and until this year the 20-year-old had the name Bynoe-Gittens on the packaging of his shirt.
Gittens revealed on Dortmund’s official website why he left Bynoe behind and decided to continue with Gittens alone.
He explained that he had halved his last name at the request of his father.
‘They are both my father’s names, but he said he prefers my name to just be Gittens, because it’s shorter.
“Most people know him as Gittens, so in the future I will only wear Gittens,” he told Dortmund’s official website.
“The shorter the better,” he also told the German news agency Bild.
Since turning professional in 2020, the English striker has been known as Bynoe-Gittens
However, he changed it to just Gittens ahead of the 2024-25 season because of his father
Bynoe-Gittens has scored four goals in five games this season and people think he could follow a similar path to Jude Bellingham.
The 20-year-old was even named ‘England’s next superstar’ by Get German Football News thanks to his stunning form.
Bynoe-Gittens grew up through Reading’s youth ranks, like Michael Olise, but was snapped up by Manchester City in 2018 before Dortmund came calling.
An injury initially prevented him from playing, but he made his Bundesliga debut in April 2022. A few months later he scored his first goal and has since become a regular in the team.
He played at the highest level for England under-21s and won the 2022 European Under-19 Championship, starting in the final in a 3-1 win over Israel.