Beating Jude Bellingham at FIFA and two hours of German lessons a day have helped Jamie Bynoe-Gittens settle in at Borussia Dortmund.
The unassuming 19-year-old sits in St George’s Park explaining how his life in the German city has helped him grow.
The last of Dortmund’s English trio, the former Chelsea youngster has developed while Bellingham and Jadon Sancho shone to earn their mega-money moves.
Bynoe-Gittens made his debut less than 18 months ago but has settled well. His lessons, having joined from Manchester City in 2020, have left him “near fluent” as he matures away from the Premier League spotlight.
“Not everybody spoke English when I arrived. That was very hard for me because, at the time, I only spoke English. I had to learn German quickly,” he says.
“I remember looking for something like shampoo in the supermarket and you’ve got to find where it is and you might need to ask someone. It’s hard, you know.
“The word is the same, so maybe that’s an easy one to find! But maybe if you were going to the shops or getting the bus to town and having to find the right way to go…
“At school I tried to speak French and that didn’t really work. German is difficult – it’s really hard to learn and it takes time. But when you live here, you pick it up.
“I was a very shy person back then, so I had to learn to speak more and to ask for things that I might not ordinarily have asked for.
“The first year was tough, because Covid meant that there were no games. Then when we came back in 2021 I was injured for four months.
“After Christmas, I started playing more games and then that’s when I broke into the senior team.
“Seeing other players before me doing it persuaded me I could try it as well and try to progress like Jude has done right now or Jadon did.”
Now he is the only Englishman left at Dortmund after Bellingham’s initial £88.5million move to Real Madrid this summer.
Thankfully the new England Under-21 international can ask for a little more than shampoo – along with a cheeky offer of giving lessons to Bayern Munich new boy Harry Kane while at St George’s Park – although he misses his friends.
“Jude would take me out into Dortmund sometimes. Or when Jadon was there, we would go to get a haircut together or something or go to his house for three or four hours, maybe play FIFA,” said the Under-19 European champion, who remains close with team-mate Gio Reyna.
“They took me in as their little brother…I’d beat Jude at FIFA all the time.
“It’s great to see him do it. I knew he was going to be like this. It wasn’t a surprise to me. How he prepares for games, how he prepares for training. He’s just so professional. He’s a great person too.”
In May, on his final appearance, Bellingham sat devasted on the Signal Iduna Park pitch after a 2-2 draw with Mainz on the final day of last season handed Bayern the title.
Going into the game top, Dortmund were expected to end their 11-year Bundesliga drought, capping Bellingham’s three starring years in Germany.
Yet, it was to end in heartbreak as injured Bynoe-Gittens watched from the sidelines as the title slipped away.
“It was very hard,” he said, having made 20 appearances, scoring three times. “I couldn’t play in the last two games because of injury and watching it was just really sad, we had worked so hard to get there.
“There are are almost no words to describe it. We had no emotion, just numb.
“We’re always focused on winning or pushing for the title, like last season. We have to start quick, now, and hopefully be clear.
“We want to win the Bundesliga. Dortmund is a big club. You can’t just go for second, third or fourth. We want to push for first, the DFB Cup too and then go far in the Champions League.”
View this post on InstagramDortmund, the 1997 winners, have not got past the quarter-finals since losing the final to Bayern in 2013 but European success is always an objective.Edin Terzic’s side open their Champions League campaign at PSG on Tuesday and also face AC Milan and Newcastle, travelling to St James’ Park in December.
The luck of the draw allows Bynoe-Gittens, who came through at Reading before moving to Chelsea and then Manchester, to return to England outside international duty. Quiet but confident, he is ready to show what he has learnt.
“It was always my dream to play in the Champions League as a kid, watching it on TV. Playing in it was a big achievement for me,” he said.
“It gives me added fuel to play in England and to show everybody what I can do.”
Sheffield United go second after late turnaround, Plymouth continue good home form
Sheffield United staged a late turnaround to win 2-1 away to Bristol City and go second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Sunderland who play on Wednesday.
The game started slowly, with the hosts not opening the scoring until a 75th-minute Anis Mehmeti penalty after a foul on Sinclair Armstrong by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.
The Blades showed great character to haul themselves back into the game, with 18-year-old Ryan One scoring the equaliser in the 86th minute.
But things went up a notch in stoppage time when Robert Dickie was given a straight red card for a cynical foul on Callum O'Hare 35 yards out.
The drama wasn't finished yet and with seconds to go, Harrison Burrows smashed home a left-foot rocket to win the game for the Blades.
At the bottom of the table, Plymouth opened a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth.
The victory means that Wayne Rooney's side have dropped just two points in their last five games at Home Park, having lost six on the bounce in all competitions away.
It is now four without a victory for Portsmouth, who have earned just nine points in their opening 14 matches back in the Championship.
Elsewhere, Middlesbrough responded to their 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City last weekend by beating second-bottom Queens Park Rangers 4-1 on the road.
That was a first victory in three for Michael Carrick's side, who are one place below the play-off positions and trail only by goal difference.
QPR are four points behind fourth-bottom Preston North End, having failed to win any of their last 10 league games.
Celtic 3-1 RB Leipzig: Kuhn double inspires Hoops to Champions League fightback
Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn scored twice as the Bhoys fought back to clinch an impressive 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Coming off a goalless draw at Atalanta on matchday three, Celtic recorded their second home win in the Champions League this season, moving up to 13th in the standings on seven points.
They had to do things the hard way, falling behind to Christoph Baumgartner's close-range header after a corner came off Cameron Carter-Vickers in the 23rd minute.
However, Kuhn levelled in the 35th minute with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box, then tapped into an open net for his brace shortly before half-time.
Benjamin Sesko and Baumgartner went close to equalising after the break but Celtic's birthday boy, 38-year-old goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, pulled off a couple of fine saves before Reo Hatate sealed victory with a close-range finish in the 72nd minute.
Leipzig's wait for a first point in the Champions League this campaign continues, with their chances of reaching the knockout stages fading after four defeats in as many games.
Data Debrief: Celtic flying high
Celtic may have been humiliated in a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on matchday two, but that was a mere blip in what has so far been an impressive European campaign.
Their total of seven points is already their most in a Champions League campaign since 2012-13, when they collected 10, while they last netted more goals (currently nine) in a Champions League/European Cup campaign in 1977-78 (13).
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz: Malen late show extends Champions League home record
Donyell Malen netted an 85th minute winner to hand Borussia Dortmund a narrow 1-0 victory over winless Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A dominant showing from Nuri Sahin's side made it three wins from four games so far in the competition, moving them up to fourth in the new 36-team league.
Dortmund started brightly at the Westfalenstadion but were unable to find a breakthrough, with Marcel Sabitzer, Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy going close.
They recorded 13 shots in the first half, their most in the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League match without scoring since Opta recorded this data (since 2003-04).
But Sturm Graz offered a threat on the break after the interval, with Jusuf Gazibegovic curling an effort narrowly wide before Mika Biereth missed a header from close range.
However, Dortmund left it late to seal the win as Malen pounced on Emanuel Aiwu's loose pass before being sent through by Guirassy, with the Dutchman rattling the ball beyond
Kjell Scherpen to seal another Champions League home win.
Data Debrief: Home comforts
While Sahin has come under fire for Dortmund's displays away from home, there is no arguing with his record at the Westfalenstadion.
He became the first Dortmund coach since the Bundesliga was founded to win each of his first seven home matches in charge (all competitions), while BVB are now unbeaten in 13 consecutive Champions League home games (W9 D4) - an extended club record.
Malen’s winner was timed at 84:56, Dortmund’s latest winning goal in a Champions League match since Kevin Groskreutz netted against Marseille in December 2013.
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