Jude Bellingham may not be the only English starlet Chelsea need to worry about when taking on Borussia Dortmund this evening.

Flying winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, 18, is already making a splash at Signal Iduna Park, having netted three goals in nine fleeting Bundesliga appearances this term.

His latest strike against Werder Bremen at the weekend has left the Londoner in contention to make his Champions League bow against the Blues — a club he spent a brief spell with as a youngster.

Ahead of tonight’s clash, here is everything you need to know about the England Under-19s international.

Proven pathway

English prospects heading to Germany in search of first-team football has become commonplace in recent years, with Bynoe-Gittens the latest to plot such a rise to stardom. 

Just like Bellingham and Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho, he has spent a key period of his development with Dortmund due to the clearer pathway offered towards their senior side compared with most of England’s top clubs.

In fact, despite only turning 18 last August, Bynoe-Gittens has already racked up plenty of miles on his footballing journey.

Having initially hopped between Chelsea and Reading as a schoolboy, he settled in Manchester City’s academy for a two-year period aged 14.

While there, he considered Sancho a role model — so perhaps unsurprisingly he opted to mirror the Three Lions ace’s move from Manchester to the Black and Yellows in September 2020.

From there, he has not looked back.

Impressive impact

Bynoe-Gittens spent 18 months away from the spotlight in his new club’s academy teams before making his senior breakthrough last April.

He featured in four of BVB’s final five Bundesliga games in 2021-22 under Marco Rose, though the 46-year-old was axed shortly after the season’s end.

Fortunately for Bynoe-Gittens, Rose’s replacement Edin Terzic was also an admirer of his talents.

Scoring his first senior goal in August — a 20-yard curling strike against Freiburg — the youngster featured in four straight Bundesliga games under Terzic before sustaining a shoulder injury.

Though the issue kept him sidelined until German football’s post-World Cup resumption last month, he has picked up where he left off. 

Five straight substitute appearances have brought goals against Augsburg and Werder Bremen, leaving the starlet on the verge of securing a starting berth.

High hopes

Terzic mentioned Bynoe-Gittens’ name in some pretty esteemed company during this week's media duties.

Faced with the prospect of talismanic midfielder Bellingham leaving for pastures new next summer, the German coach believes the emergence of his No43 shows Dortmund’s future is in safe hands.

Terzic told journalists: "We have to produce the next big thing. It's our way, and you see it started with Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic who stepped into this role, and then we created our own chain reaction.

"When you are ready to sign Jadon Sancho, he sees that Ousmane Dembele had a great time at the club. Then it makes it a bit easier to sign Erling Haaland.

"If you have Erling, you sign Jude, and if you have Jude, it's easier to sign Jamie Bynoe-Gittens."

Bynoe-Gittens is yet to become a regular starter under Terzic but it is clear the 40-year-old sees that landmark as a matter of when, not if.

He added: "Every time he's on the pitch, he's capable of making the difference. And at 18, it's something special to do that.

"We are sure he's going to be the next one we enjoy on the pitch."

World at his feet

With blistering pace, an eye for goal and the ability to play on either wing, Bynoe-Gittens has all the tools to become one of Europe’s elite attackers.

Had he taken the safe option of staying put in an English academy, he would probably be watching this evening’s Champions League clash on a TV screen rather than vying to feature in it.

That brave leap into the unknown has already paid off in exquisite fashion.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s game, the man himself said: "It was risky to leave England but I have learned many things by coming to Germany.

"If I stayed, I wouldn’t have learned as much. To be playing these top teams on the biggest stage is really big for me. I just want to be out there playing."

If Terzic does turn to his young gun tonight, Chelsea may be left wondering how he slipped through their grasp all those years ago.