5 Borussia Dortmund Players with Points to Prove in Pre-Season

The 2016-17 club football season will see Borussia Dortmund a very different side from that which finished runners-up in the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in May. Head coach Thomas Tuchel was forced to rebuild his group following the sales of Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Manchester United, Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City and captain Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich.

The departures of so many key players have brought the arrivals of several newcomers. Competition will be fierce for starting roles in the new BVB team—Tuchel rebuilt his side without any huge expenditures or obvious replacements for the departed stars. The battle for favor in the manager's eyes has already begun, as training resumed last week.

B/R analyzed the Dortmund squad heading into 2016-17, selecting the players who have the most to prove during the pre-season. Click "Begin Slideshow" to see our picks, arranged in alphabetical order by surname.

Marc Bartra

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Hummels is the type of player Dortmund could never hope to replace; he's one-of-a-kind, with only a select few players in his position even comparable to his level of class. Yet Marc Bartra will look to fill the former captain's boots as he joins the BVB squad this summer.

Bartra was never quite good enough to nail down a starting position at Barcelona, earning just 497 minutes of playing time in La Liga last season. Even so, Dortmund were willing to invest a not-insignificant €8 million (per Transfermarkt) to secure his signature. The 25-year-old will face high expectations when he plays his first competitive match. Before then, Bartra will have to prove to Tuchel in pre-season that he's worth the money spent to sign him.

Ousmane Dembele

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With Mkhitaryan leaving the Signal-Iduna Park, all eyes will be on Ousmane Dembele to become Dortmund's next superstar attacker. It's a tall order for the former Rennes man, who only recently turned 19 years of age. Yet he proved his class in Ligue 1 last season, prompting Dortmund to drop €15 million (per Transfermarkt) to sign him from the French side.

Under ordinary circumstances, Marco Reus would be expected to carry the torch for Mkhitaryan. Because the Germany international will not return from injury before August, however, Dembele will have a real chance to prove himself. Already a France under-21 international, he wasn't placed on the under-19 European Championship roster, so he began training with Dortmund last week. It will be interesting to see how far Tuchel's tutelage can take him.

Emre Mor

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Along with Dembele, Emre Mor is the second high-profile attacking talent Dortmund signed during the summer transfer window. He's one of three players of similar standing in the squad, with Christian Pulisic being the third.

Among the three, Mor may be at the biggest disadvantage. For one, he's less experienced at a high level: Whereas the Frenchman experienced a huge breakthrough in Ligue 1 last year, and even 17-year-old Pulisic (more than a year younger than Mor) made strides in the Bundesliga, Mor spent last season in the Danish league. He played well for Turkey this summer, but the Bundesliga might be too big a jump for him at this point. Another disadvantage for Mor is the fact that Pulisic has worked extensively with Tuchel.

Even so, Mor has plenty of skill and will certainly have his chances in pre-season. He has the potential to be a star one day, but the question now is how long he'll need to develop his talent before breaking into the first team.

Christian Pulisic

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Pulisic experienced a brilliant period of development in April, when he scored his first two Bundesliga goals. After impressing at Dortmund's winter training camp, he convinced Tuchel to let Adnan Januzaj rejoin Manchester United half a season prior to the end of his loan spell. The coach's trust was repaid with some great performances.

In spite of his progress, Pulisic (whose pre-season will begin late due to his participation in the Copa America) faces a new challenge in 2016-17, as Mor and Dembele have joined the mix. Dortmund invested significant money in both players, both of whom are older than Pulisic. Although he managed to displace Januzaj, it will be difficult for him to earn playing time ahead of Dortmund's talented new attackers.

Sebastian Rode

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If there is any player in the BVB squad who has the right to a chip on his shoulder, it’s Sebastian Rode. The midfielder spent three years in Munich and impressed when given the chance to play, but his minutes were always limited: Last season, he played just 493 minutes in all competitions (per Transfermarkt) despite being fit for nearly every game.

Now 25 years of age, Rode has come to Dortmund with the hopes of revitalizing his career and rediscovering the talent that made him a star at Eintracht Frankfurt. Competition will be fierce in midfield, but Rode has proved effective in the center of the park, as well as on the right and in the center of defense. His versatility could be very useful to Tuchel, though he'll need to hit the ground running during pre-season to earn the opportunity.

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