Thomas Tuchel has urged his young charge Julian Weigl to stay and develop himself at Dortmund, rather than move to Real Madrid.
The two sides met in a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Tuchel had advisory words for his 21-year-old midfielder, following the Champions League encounter.
"I think Julian is not ready to play for Madrid yet," Tuchel (as quoted byFourFourTwo)told reporters, concerning speculation over the former 1860 Munich player.
"He made some mistakes in the first half that he does not make usually. He struggled a bit before the break. That is why I think he needs to take another step in his development first.
"I am pleased that he showed courage after the break and improved. He did everything well in the second half and we got back into the game. He felt at ease and was not hiding.
If you're a young & ambitious midfielder, just go & tape Julian Weigl's matches.
See what he does and learn, and learn, and learn.#passmap pic.twitter.com/TafYqV0rYB
"We should not forget that it is only his second year here. He needs games like these to grow. It was a special match for Julian."
Weigl joined Dortmund in the summer of 2015, and has become a regular under Tuchel, playing 19 times this season already and scoring once in the Champions League.
The tall, holding midfielder's impressive ascent, which has seen him earn four caps for Germany, has alsocaught the eye of some of Europe's top clubs, including Real Madrid and Manchester City,who were bothlinked with a transferover the summer.
Weigl is one of a number of promising young stars inDortmund side that also boasts Christian Pulisic and Ousmane Dembele, buthas stalled over signing an extension to his current deal at Signal Iduna Park, which runs until 2019.