Just a year ago, Julian Weigl was a main target of Paris Saint-Germain, set to link up with former coach Thomas Tuchel and the subject of transfer rumours in the range of €40 million to a whopping €75m.
The Germany international was on the fringes at Borussia Dortmund, but such was the midfielder's talent that he was being coveted by Europe's biggest teams, who could finally unlock his potential.
He has finally found a way out of Dortmund, but not to PSG nor Manchester City, another one of the clubs he has been linked with. Instead, the 24-year-old has surprisingly moved to Benfica for €20m (£17m/$22m).
A precocious talent, Weigl became 1860 Munich's youngest-ever captain at 18 and became one of Tuchel's first signings when the former Mainz boss replaced Jurgen Klopp at Dortmund.
“He’s one for the future in central midfield, and in whose enormous potential for development we believe,” sporting director Michael Zorc said after confirming the €2.5m (£2.1m/$2.8m) signing.
Weigl quickly emerged as a key player in Tuchel's dynamic pressing system, helping recycle possession and build attacks with his progressive passes into wide positions. His 193 touches in the 4-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in December 2015 were the second-most in Bundesliga history, and he went on to break Xabi Alonso's league record with 218 touches in 83 minutes against Cologne at the end of the 2015-16 season.
“When I watch Julian Weigl for Dortmund, I am reminded of Pep Guardiola in Barcelona’s centre midfield,” Germany legend Lothar Matthaus said after watching the midfielder's breakthrough season.
He was also being compared to Sergio Busquets in Tuchel's midfield, playing 30 of 34 league games in each of his first two seasons. However, when Tuchel left the club, a series of head coaches either used him sparingly or else out of position in defence.
Weigl started just 20 games in 2017-18 under Peter Bosz and Peter Stoger and then only 16 games last season in Lucien Favre's first campaign, with only five of those coming in defensive midfield and the rest at centre-back as Dortmund suffered an injury crisis in defence.
With the versatile defensive player not guaranteed starts under Favre, he was heavily linked with a move to PSG to link up with Tuchel again. He went to club officials to ask them for a transfer but they refused to let him go as they needed him for cover in both midfield and defence.
"I have to accept that those responsible at the club didn't want to release me," Weigl told Sport Bild in January 2019. Tuchel admitted his interest in bringing Weigl to PSG, calling him an 'interesting player', while Weigl continued to push for a transfer.
"I wanted to improve my sporting situation. It is no secret that I can work well under Thomas Tuchel," Weigl told reporters. "I communicated my thoughts to the BVB officials."
Despite the public flirtation between Tuchel and Weigl, the player remained at the Westfalenstadion, with Favre convincing him he still had a role to play at the Bundesliga club.
"I had an important talk with the coach during the training camp when it wasn't quite clear what my future would look like yet," Weigl said in September:
"He told me that he had seen that [Axel] Witsel and I could play well together, that I looked in good shape and would have a great chance of playing. That was very important for me to hear. Therefore, I finally decided to concentrate only on BVB."
Goal
Favre had used Weigl more frequently this season, starting him in 12 games in both midfield and centre-back. However, Weigl sees himself as a midfielder first and foremost and is eager to play there on an every week basis.
Injury to Thomas Delaney helped him get more chances in midfield in 2019-20, but Dortmund hope the Denmark international will return in January, thus pushing Weigl back down the pecking order again.
As a result, he asked the club again for a transfer, but having failed to replicate his form from early in his Dortmund career Zorc was finally willing to let him leave.
"Julian came to us with this wish, and we agreed - also because of his services to the club," sporting director Zorc said. "We wish him all the best for his future."
The move to Benfica and the price tag came as a surprise to some, but is indicative of how his star has fallen in recent years. Three successive Dortmund managers saw him as little more than a versatile back-up, while Germany head coach Joachim Low has not sought his services since 2017.
Weigl has played just six minutes of competitive football for Germany, with four of his five caps coming in friendlies. He was once compared to Guardiola and wanted by Guardiola, but now must rebuild his career and get regular game time after trading the Bundesliga for Portugal.
