4 Borussia Dortmund Youngsters Who Could Taste 1st-Team Action in 2016/17 Season

Thomas Tuchel made quite a splash in his first season at Borussia Dortmund, helping develop rising stars and promoting them to the first team.

Although Adnan Januzaj failed to impress while on loan and was sent back to Manchester United in midseason, perhaps the BVB trainer's crowning achievement during his first term at Signal Iduna Park was the success of Julian Weigl and Christian Pulisic.

Shortly before his 20th birthday, and in his first season in the Bundesliga, Weigl became a regular starter in the Dortmund midfield. He recently was called up to the German senior national team and made the cut for Joachim Low's final squad for Euro 2016.

As a 17-year-old, Pulisic became the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score his first two goals. Now he has made the United States' squad for the Copa America Centenario and recently netted his first goal as a senior international.

This summer, BVB have added even more young talent to their senior side, bringing in Ousmane Dembele and Mikel Merino.

But beyond the signings, Dortmund have one of the finest youth academies in Germany. The Black and Yellows won the under-19 Bundesliga this season and the under-17 Bundesliga in each of the previous two seasons (this year's play-offs are still ongoing). Thus, there is plenty of reason to be excited for what the next season has to offer in terms of young players at Dortmund.

Click "Begin Slideshow" for B/R's picks of the top four BVB academy players who could earn playing time next season, presented in alphabetical order by surname.

Dzenis Burnic

Dzenis Burnic made his debut for the Dortmund senior team in a friendly against Steaua Bucharest last January, grabbing an assist in a half-hour appearance off the bench.

The player was still 16 at the time, yet filled in well in his central-midfield role, apparently possessing enough athleticism for the job even at such a young age.

A supremely versatile midfielder, Burnic has the pace, stamina, strength and aggression of a player like Sven Bender yet technical skills refined enough to play in an elegant passing system.

Per Transfermarkt, he recorded an impressive seven goals and 11 assists in 23 appearances in the Under-19 Bundesliga last season, and scored a critical goal against 1860 Munich in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals.  

Burnic is similar to Granit Xhaka in his desire to take the ball in a deep area and orchestrate the build-up, but he needs to develop a bit more discipline. He can fly into tackles at times and his eagerness to accept responsibility can come at a tactical price. If he matures mentally, he has enormous potential.

Felix Passlack

With Mario Gotze having left Dortmund, Felix Passlack may be the next poster boy of the BVB academy.

The 18-year-old bears much in common with his predecessor in terms of his build and skills, but he is perhaps an even more appropriate symbol of the Dortmund academy due to his incredible versatility. Last season, Passlack played on both wings, in defense and midfield, as well as in a central role behind the main striker.

Passlack was, with Burnic, called up to the senior team in January 2015. And he made his Bundesliga debut last season, amassing three appearances under Tuchel.

Right now, there remains the question of how Passlack will fit into the first team. He is still rather short (1.70 meters) for a defender, and whether he can take defensive responsibilities against higher-level opponents is still in question.

He is an extremely gifted winger, though, and his 21 goals and 21 assists in 31 appearances for the BVB under-19 side is quite impressive. He has the ability to take the game into his own hands in various ways as he showed with his hat-trick against Fortuna Cologne and his four assists against Bochum.

Passlack ended the season on a high note, playing a hand in both of his side's goals in the second leg of their comeback under-19 championship semi-final win over 1860 Munich, as well as scoring and giving two assists in the final victory over Hoffenheim. He was the club's captain in both of those games and showed real leadership.

Passlack's versatility will likely see him earn more first-team playing time in one position or another next season. But where he will finally line up as an exclusively senior player remains in question.

Christian Pulisic

Passlack was the local lad long touted for greatness in Dortmund, but Christian Pulisic is the boy who came out of nowhere last season and eclipsed his under-19 team-mate in terms of development and status at the club.

The youngster moved to the Ruhr area last February and was promoted to the under-19 team as a 16-year-old in July.

Pulisic provided six goals and as many assists in the Under-19 Bundesliga last season. His talent was recognized by Tuchel, and he was promoted to the first team for much of the spring campaign.

In total, Pulisic made nine appearances for the senior side, during which he scored goals in back-to-back games against Hamburg SV and VfB Stuttgart.

Still just 17, Pulisic is now a senior international for the United States and has already recorded his first goal. An agile and gifted dribbler who possesses a great eye for creativity and keen goal sense, the young attacking midfielder looks well on his way to greatness.

Dortmund's signing of Dembele could threaten Pulisic's role next season, but the American has held his own against more established senior players and will put up a good fight for playing time. He can expect to be in the first team from an early stage in the 2016-17 campaign, earlier than anyone else on this list.

Janni-Luca Serra

Anyone following the Dortmund youth ranks a few years ago may recall a centre-back named Janni-Luca Serra. That same boy has grown up and is now a striker.

Last season, Serra scored 20 goals and provided 14 assists in 32 games in all competitions (per Transfermarkt) for the Dortmund under-19s—definitely not the best numbers for his position among Germany's excellent 1998- and 1999-born strikers, but they are impressive given his newcomer status.

Serra has shown that he's a big-game player. When Johannes Eggestein was struggling at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship last summer, he came into the first team and scored the goal that put his country through to the final. He also netted a brace in the Under-19 Bundesliga final, lifting BVB to a 5-3 win over Hoffenheim.

In terms of playing style, Serra is a classic striker who aims to overpower his opponents. At 1.93 meters in height and possessing a sturdy frame, he's a force to be reckoned with.

His years of training in defense have put him a step behind in his technical development, though, and he's an anomaly among Dortmund's young attackers.

Still, Serra scores goals and his physicality may make him ready for at least a taste of Bundesliga action within the next year.