Realistic Expectations for Borussia Dortmund's Julian Weigl in 2016/17 Season

Borussia Dortmund have far exceeded expectations this season. Considering they went through their first coaching change since 2008 and came off a wholeheartedly disappointing 2014/15 campaign in which they flirted with relegation for months, no one would have dared expected such a strong year from the Black and Yellows.

No one embodies Dortmund's surprising level of performances better than 20-year-old midfielder Julian Weigl. Signed as a promise to the future for a mere €2.5 million, according to Transfermarkt.de (link in German), most onlookers expected the Germany under-21 international to alternate between BVB's first and second teams, with the occasional appearance for Thomas Tuchel's side—that includes the man himself, as he told Oliver Muller of daily paper Welt (link in German) in January.

In reality, Weigl quickly emerged as one of the first-year head coach's most trusted players, appearing in 49 of the club's 54 matches across competitions so far. His meteoric rise from virtual unknown to indispensable starter has been nothing short of sensational.

Now, expectations for the next season will undoubtedly be higher. But what can fans realistically expect from Weigl?

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If truth be told, there aren't too many areas in which the 20-year-old can improve. Showing maturity beyond his years, he's already displaying an astounding level of consistency in his performances. Apart from a short spell toward the end of the first and the start of the second half of the season—the proverbial rookie wall, perhaps—Weigl has played at a high level all campaign long.

The same will be expected next season, and there's nothing to suggest Weigl won't be able to deliver. What bodes well for the future is his improvement during the campaign.

In his first few months at the club, Weigl interpreted his role as the connector of defence and attack in Dortmund's midfield somewhat conservatively.

"The brilliancy of Weigl is that he understands his strengths and his limitations better than perhaps anyone else on the field," tactics blogger Constantin Eckner wrote in a piece for YellowWallPod.com in September. "It can be inspiring to watch a player, that is not the fastest, that is not the strongest, and that is not most talented, surviving on his football intelligence and sense of avoiding dangers."

Since the turn of the year, however, Dortmund's No. 33 has become more daring, more frequently attempting dribbles out of tight situations and playing more direct passes into the final third. Especially in games without his midfield partner Ilkay Gundogan taking on these responsibilities, Weigl has become a more dominant player.

With the 25-year-old out of the picture for a few months due to his knee injury—if he's even still at the club on September 1—Weigl will have to continue being the main link in central midfield. With Mats Hummels potentially leaving the club as well, the 20-year-old could quickly become Dortmund's most important player in the buildup phase.

Thanks to his intelligence and vision, Weigl should thrive despite that added pressure. One thing he could do to improve under literal pressure, however, is adding a bit of bulk.  

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StatsBomb.com's Dustin Ward "can't help wondering how much better he could be if he simply did 100 pushups a day," while Flavio Fusi noted for UltimoUomo.com (link in Italian) that more strength and athleticism would help Weigl keep the ball in battles.

Especially considering Dortmund's return to the UEFA Champions League, Tuchel should task Weigl with hitting the gym over the summer.

That is, of course, unless he'll be busy with Germany in France. With Gundogan missing the UEFA European Football Championship, Joachim Low could call up his team-mate as a replacement in the squad.

It would be a well-deserved reward for Weigl's impressive rookie campaign in which the midfielder has developed into one of the Bundesliga's finest midfielders. There's no reason why he shouldn't stay on that trajectory and become even more dominant for Dortmund next season.

Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.