![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletter\/football\/football-thumb\/football-thumb.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Beating Jude Bellingham at FIFA and two hours of German lessons a day have helped Jamie Bynoe-Gittens settle in at Borussia Dortmund.<\/p>\n
The unassuming 19-year-old sits in St George\u2019s Park explaining how his life in the German city has helped him grow.<\/p>\n
The last of Dortmund\u2019s English trio, the former Chelsea youngster has developed while Bellingham and Jadon Sancho shone to earn their mega-money moves.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cnear fluent\u201d as he matures away from the Premier League spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot 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,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2022\/11\/30\/15\/GettyImages-1388382959%20copy.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2022\/12\/01\/03\/GettyImages-1245251240.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember looking for something like shampoo in the supermarket and you\u2019ve got to find where it is and you might need to ask someone. It\u2019s hard, you know.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe word is the same, so maybe that\u2019s 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\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cAt school I tried to speak French and that didn\u2019t really work. German is difficult \u2013 it\u2019s really hard to learn and it takes time. But when you live here, you pick it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/mobile-stores\/Amazon_Prime.svg\")
<\/p>\n
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Christmas, I started playing more games and then that\u2019s when I broke into the senior team.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now he is the only Englishman left at Dortmund after Bellingham\u2019s initial \u00a388.5million move to Real Madrid this summer.<\/p>\n
Thankfully the new England Under-21 international can ask for a little more than shampoo \u2013 along with a cheeky offer of giving lessons to Bayern Munich new boy Harry Kane while at St George\u2019s Park \u2013 although he misses his friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cJude 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,\u201d said the Under-19 European champion, who remains close with team-mate Gio Reyna.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey took me in as their little brother\u2026I\u2019d beat Jude at FIFA all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to see him do it. I knew he was going to be like this. It wasn\u2019t a surprise to me. How he prepares for games, how he prepares for training. He\u2019s just so professional. He\u2019s a great person too.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Going into the game top, Dortmund were expected to end their 11-year Bundesliga drought, capping Bellingham\u2019s three starring years in Germany.<\/p>\n
Yet, it was to end in heartbreak as injured Bynoe-Gittens watched from the sidelines as the title slipped away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very hard,\u201d he said, having made 20 appearances, scoring three times. \u201cI couldn\u2019t play in the last two games because of injury and watching it was just really sad, we had worked so hard to get there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are are almost no words to describe it. We had no emotion, just numb.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always focused on winning or pushing for the title, like last season. We have to start quick, now, and hopefully be clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to win the Bundesliga. Dortmund is a big club. You can\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Cou-NJFsABC<\/p>\n
Dortmund, 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.<\/p>\n
Edin Terzic\u2019s side open their Champions League campaign at PSG on Tuesday and also face AC Milan and Newcastle, travelling to St James\u2019 Park in December.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/09\/17\/22\/61facb787d3b680ba5f88a39ec7b67f1Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk1MDY2MDAx-2.73748253.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/09\/17\/22\/b14c4af5ad9d5889df4c9f935b1fe3c7Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk1MDUzNDY0-2.68782510.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/09\/17\/22\/newFile-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives me added fuel to play in England and to show everybody what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n