Given the success of both Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, it should no longer come as a surprise that Borussia Dortmund are continuing to mine the English academy system in a bid to find their next emerging star.
Regarded as Europe's finest finishing school for rising wonderkids from both Germany and abroad, winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens is now on the verge of becoming the next Englishman to gatecrash the first team at Signal Iduna Park.
A skilful and dynamic winger, there are clear parallels to the development and journey of Sancho, a player that 17-year-old Bynoe-Gittens regards as an inspiration.
Both were spotted by Manchester City scouts while playing for smaller clubs on the outskirts of London - Bynoe-Gittens at Reading, Sancho at Watford - before both later walked away from the Premier League champions and took a chance on furthering their career in Germany.
Even represented by the same adviser, Bynoe-Gittens and Sancho share similar footballing qualities - close control, self-confidence, dribbling, and an ability to isolate and beat defenders, while they can also provide their own fair share of goals from out wide.
The 'new Sancho' headlines practically write themselves, but does Bynoe-Gittens have what it takes to replicate the success of the now-Manchester United star?
Anticipation around Bynoe-Gittens started to grow in the summer of 2021 when he began training with Marco Rose's first-team squad during pre-season, and was even named on the bench for a friendly against Athletic Club.
But having been thrown on in the second half, he suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of action for four months.
Given he played just two competitive games during his first season at the club in 2020-21 due to a combination of injuries and Covid-19, Bynoe-Gittens might have been forgiven for thinking it may not happen for him at his new club.
But he has bounced back superbly after returning to action in November, scoring seven goals in eight competitive games for Dortmund's U19s, including four in three UEFA Youth League games to help secure qualification for the last 16.
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"He definitely has the talent to be part of the big stage at some point," Dortmund U19s coach Mike Tullberg tells GOAL and SPOX. "We can't, and don't, want to slow him down.
"He is very smart, mature and hard working. The most important thing now is for him to get in shape first. In the games before Christmas, he had to leave the pitch after 55 minutes with cramp.
"He hasn't played properly for almost two years, and is not yet in the necessary physical condition to be able to train with the first team. The fact that he is still an Under-19s player is due to his injuries.
"It was agreed between the youth department and the first team that we would first develop him in the Under-19s. That will certainly take some time.
"If we all think he's ready and his performances justify it - which I'm not worried about at all - then it's clear that he'll end up in the first team sooner or later."
The excitement in Germany over Bynoe-Gittens' potential will come as no surprise to those that worked with him before he left England.
Chelsea were interested him in signing him when he was still playing U9s football, but he stayed with Reading until a few years later, when both Arsenal and City showed an interest, and he eventually headed for Manchester.
Bynoe-Gittens made an real impression during his three years at City, with the club rating him as one of the most exciting prospects in his age-group.
He regularly played above his own age, and made his debut for the U18s shortly after his 15th birthday in a game in which he scored for a City team that included Liam Delap, James McAtee, Samuel Edozie and Finley Burns - all of whom have gone onto play for Pep Guardiola's first team.
"I have worked with a lot of guys, and he is by far the most talented who I have worked with," Tom Joyce, who works as a strength and conditioning coach for some of England's most talented youngsters, tells GOAL. "He is like my little brother."
European scouts are regulars at the Etihad Campus, and Dortmund eventually convinced Bynoe-Gittens to join them in September 2020, paying City an undisclosed compensation fee.
Sporting director Michael Zorc hailed his scouting department at the teenager's unveiling while trying, not wholly successfully, to play down expectations.
Like Sancho in his early days at Dortmund, Bynoe-Gittens' decision-making needs to improve, but that will come with experience.
"He's super strong, not only one-on-one, but also one-on-two he is almost unstoppable," Tullberg adds.
"Jamie is almost faster with the ball than without it. He is strong with both feet and doesn't have to look at the ball. His brutal speed and ball control are his weapons.
"With his body moves and skills, it looks like he is playing basketball on the football pitch!
"He is very strong in finishing and has a willingness to learn. He is very hard working and his defensive skills have improved significantly in a very short period of time. Not only his tactical understanding, but also the will to take on the situations."
With Erling Haaland expected to leave this summer, the Dortmund talent factory will continue to produce their own replacements, as they did with Sancho when Christian Pulisic left for Chelsea.
And with Bynoe-Gittens having already had two years of living in Germany to help him acclimatise, it looks like another rough English jewel will be polished in the Rhine-Ruhr region.
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Additional reporting by Stanislav Schupp and Nizaar Kinsella.
