5 Borussia Dortmund Youngsters Who Could Taste 1st-Team Action This Season

Borussia Dortmund will kick off their Bundesliga campaign at home to Borussia Monchengladbach on August 15, meaning new coach Thomas Tuchel has a reasonable amount of time to distinguish just who will be in his first team.

The club has already began recruiting extra faces in the transfer market, signing Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Gonzalo Castro and young Freiburg goalkeeper Roman Burki, along with a number of other less distinguished players.

Although a great exodus of star names was expected this summer, the only first-team regulars to bid farewell at the Westfalenstadion have been goalkeeper Mitch Langerak and retiring central midfielder Sebastian Kehl. 

Yet away from the ins and outs of the summer transfer window, there are a few starlets who should be looking to push through from the youth ranks this summer.

Here are five youngsters at Dortmund who may well see themselves become a part of Tuchel's first-team plans this season.

Jeremy Dudziak

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First up we have young left-back Jeremy Dudziak, who has already flirted with the prospect of first-team football ahead of this season. 

Under Jurgen Klopp, Dudziak was a backup alternative but never really given much of a chance to prove himself as a better option than Marcel Schmelzer.

Interestingly, Tuchel hasn't yet signed another left-back, which may suggest he's either perfectly happy with Schmelzer or could be about to promote Dudziak to the first team. Either way, we expect to see more of this 19-year-old defender next season.

Julian Weigl

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One of the other signings Dortmund made this summer was that of Julian Weigl from 1860 Munich for a considerable sum. 

Although the 19-year-old may not be quite ready to challenge Ilkay Gundogan and company for a spot in the first team, his continued presence in the Bavarian side as they fought off relegation in last season's 2.Bundesliga clearly brought him to the attention of Tuchel and his backroom staff. 

Skilful on the ball and able to jink past tackles, Weigl enjoys setting up plays from deep and playing long through balls for his team-mates. There's a hint of the aforementioned Germany international about him, and that's exactly why we probably won't be waiting long before we see him in a Dortmund shirt next season.

Jonas Hofmann

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Jonas Hofmann hasn't exactly had the easiest of times over the past two seasons. During the campaign before last, the young forward enjoyed an exceptional breakout year in which he showed Klopp and Dortmund just what he was capable of.

Last summer, he saw Adrian Ramos and Ciro Immobile arrive at the club and found himself being shipped out on loan to Mainz. Now, the 22-year-old is back and has a point to prove. 

The poor performances of both Ramos and Immobile have shown at Dortmund since arriving may have improved Hofmann's chances of getting back in to this first team. Tuchel is well aware of his talents and won't jeopardise his development by sitting him on the bench while the aforementioned strikers continue to struggle on the pitch.

Hendrik Bonmann

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The current goalkeeping situation at Dortmund is all a little confusing. As previously stated, the Black and Yellows signed Burki and sold Langerak this summer, but they also sold young 'keeper Zlatan Alomerovic. For the time being, Roman Weidenfeller seems to be staying at the club, yet that suggests Dortmund will only have two worthy shot-stoppers.

This is where Hendrik Bonmann steps in. As the one beneath Alomerovic in the pecking order, Bonmann may now find himself as the third-choice goalkeeper at Dortmund. That role usually means very little, but as we've seen at this club over the past few seasons, any amount of injuries can force all sorts of faces into the first team. 

Assuming Tuchel will be using Burki as his first-choice 'keeper, there's no reason why the forward-thinking manager won't favour the younger, hungrier Bonmann over Weidenfeller—a player who has looked far from interested for quite some time.

Jon Gorenc Stankovic

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Last but certainly not least we have towering central defender Jon Gorenc Stankovic who will undoubtedly be hoping to state his case for first-team football next season.

The 19-year-old Slovenian began playing as a defensive midfielder at his first club, NK Domzale, but since signing for Dortmund last season, he has been primarily used as a central defender. 

With pace, height and a fantastic touch, the young defender has been a regular for the youth side and made it on to the first-team bench on two occasions last season. 

Dortmund may already have three or four excellent central defenders, but this one may begin pushing for one of their places before too long.