5 of Borussia Dortmund's best U-20 players

While their fiercest rivals have made it a habit of making big-name signings each transfer window, Dortmund have been quietly acquiring stars of the future, some of whom have already shown glimpses of their outstanding ability to the world.

While they have had to let go of some promising players in the past, their current crop is something to look out for.

Here are Dortmund's top U20 players at the moment:

#5. Alexander Isak(Forward, 18):

It's not everyday that Zlatan considers a player to be his successor and actively recommends him to his former clubs. Young Alexander Isak has managed to do just that and right now is Sweden's crown jewel.

Born in Solna, Sweden, Isak started his football career with Swedish side AIK at the age of 6. Over the years, he rose through their ranks and booked for himself a place in the first team.

He made his first-team debut as a substitute and managed to score a goal in the same match- all of this at the minor age of 16. On 7 April 2016, he started his first senior game and managed to get on the scoresheet thereby becoming AIK's youngest ever goalscorer at 16 years of age. With his exploits in the Swedish league, he earned himself the nickname 'Sweden's New Zlatan Ibrahimovic'.

His glowing performances did not go unnoticed and soon the big guns from Europe came calling for his signature. On 23 January 2017, after 11 years with AIK, he signed for German giants Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £10 million, ending his stint with the Swedish club on 10 goals in 24 games.

Before committing his future to BVB, there was huge interest from Real Madrid for the striker but he rejected them for Dortmund. He showed why he was so highly rated with a 4 goal performance in a friendly match this season. Isak has made 1 appearance for Dortmund's first team till now and will be looking to make more in the future.

At 6'3 he is well built, tall and extremely quick. He possesses the kind of ability to skip away from his markers and has an excellent first touch which allows him to create space and get his shot away. It is lanky striker's ability to drop in or move wide to receive the ball and then link up with the midfield and attackers that make him special. Isak also uses his strength and soft feet to defend the ball in tight situations.

He has already got a goal to his name at the international stage in just 2 games and looks to add to it in the future. Before linking up with the first team, Isak was a regular in Sweden's youth program after being a member of their U16, U17, U19 and U21 teams.

Have a look at Sweden's 'New Zlatan' :

#4. Jadon Sancho(Midfielder, 17):

Jadon Sancho

Right now the only U18 English player based outside the UK in a major club is Jadon Sancho. He signed for Borussia Dortmund on deadline day, this summer, owing to certain differences at Manchester City.

Born in London, England, Sancho started his career at Watford aged 7 before Man City saw his huge potential and signed him up in 2015 when he was 16. Soon Sancho became Man City's top young prospect, scoring twice in his U18 debut and then absolutely demolishing the competition in the 2016-17 season scoring 20 goals in 35 youth games.

City's chairman even named him in the list of three players that the club wanted to see in their first team in the near future.

But things started going south when Sancho was not selected as a part of City's pre-season flight to the USA while two of his teammates Diaz and Foden were part of the team. He started missing practice sessions and stated that he wanted to leave the club and eventually on 31 August 2017 he was transferred to Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £8 million. He got the number 7 shirt vacated by Dembele.

Sancho is a versatile midfielder who has the ability to play on both sides of the wing, in the centre or slot in behind the striker. As a right-footed player, he likes to cut inside before shooting or passing the ball.

His close control and pace make him a dangerous prospect in 1v1 situations and he has made a habit out of beating his man on several occasions. His wide-ranging skillset and low centre of gravity alongside his dribbling ability make him a player to watch out for in the future.

Even though he has been with the England youth program for just 2 years, he is already their star player with 18 goals in 26 games for both the U16 and U17 teams. Sancho was the winner of the Golden Ball- an award won by Kroos, Fabregas and Rooney-in England's 2017 UEFA U-17 European Championship campaign for his 5 goals and 5 assists performance in the tournament. He is also a part of England's U17 World Cup squad

Have a look at England's future Ballon D' Or prospect:

#3. Dzenis Burnic(Midfielder, 19):

Dzenis Burnic

In this world of financial power in football, many major clubs have signed top academy players from other clubs. But there are some players who have started their career at a club and rose their ranks to make a place for themselves in the starting eleven. One of those few lucky ones is Dzenis Brunic.

Born in Hamm, Germany. Burnic has been a part of Borussia Dortmund since the start of his playing days. He has played a big part in their youth squads, winning 2 titles each with the U17 and U19 squads scoring 18 goals, 6 assists and 15 goals,17 assists respectively.

After looking at these impressive performances, then coach Thomas Tuchel gave him his first senior start off the bench in the champions league match against Sporting CP in the October of 2016. He made his first Bundesliga start on 11 February 2017 against Darmstadt. Currently, he is on loan, gaining precious first-team experience at VfB Stuttgart.

Burnic is a supremely versatile midfielder who can play multiple positions effectively when called upon but prefers to play in a deep-lying defensive midfield position or in central midfield. He is blessed with pace, stamina, strength, aggression attributes which are required to prosper as a box to box midfielder and has enough technical skills to play in an elegant passing system.

His vision and passing skills allow him to understand spaces on the pitch well and effortlessly shift his team's possession to give width and let them have the option to attack in numbers. Burnic is also a good tackler and possesses good positional and technical sense, often dropping back to help his team defensively when required.

He is a regular member in the German youth set up with appearances for the U15, U16, U17 and U19 teams and was a part of their U17 European Championship squad in 2015. He is also eligible to play for Bosnia, which is the country his ancestors belong to.

Here is Dortmund's young midfield general:

#2. Felix Passlack(Defender, 19):

Felix Passlack

Whenever a young player makes his way into the Dortmund starting eleven, the comparison with Mario Gotze is brought up. the 2014 World Cup winner has been Dortmund's brightest academy prospect until now and has been set as the standard for future prospects. One player to have matched his level is Felix Passlack.

Born in Bottrop, Germany, Passlack started his playing career at the minor age of 4 at local club SV Fortuna Bottrop, spending 8 years there before moving to Rot-WeiB Oberhausen in 2010. Being as talented as he is, he soon started attracting attention from some big names in the European football circles and was eventually snapped up by Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer in 2012.

His performances for Dortmund's U17 and U19 teams have been influential in his getting a place in the senior squad. Passlack scored 42 goals and assisted 40 times for Dortmund's youth squads and was pivotal for them in their back-to-back German title-winning campaigns at the U17 and U19 levels.

He also captained the U19 team for a brief period of time. Soon, his consistent performances led to a first team call up and he eventually made his senior debut on 2nd March 2016.

Standing at 5'7, Passlack isn't the tallest but has made it up by becoming sturdly built with his dedication in the weight room. Due to his short stature, he possesses a low center of gravity enabling him to dribble past his defenders easily.

Like all modern fullbacks he possesses the ability to attack as well as defend, Passlack's stamina and sudden burst of pace usually catch opposition defenders unaware and due to these attributes his darting runs behind the opposition lines have become one of his trademark moves. He can play and finish with both feet and does not shy away from making tackles. Passlack can play multiple positions in defence and midfield.

He has been a regular part of Germany's youth set-up with appearances for their U16, U17, U18, U19 and U21 teams. Passlack was a part of Germany's U17 European Championship and U17 World Cup squads.

Here is Germany and Dortmund's future 'Gotze':

#1. Christian Pulisic(Midfield, 19):

Christian Pulisic

The USA has had many world class players who have dominated their respective sporting disciplines for a long time, but they have never had anybody who grabbed attention like Christian Pulisic is doing right now at the highest level in football.

Born in Hershey, USA, Pulisic was brought up in a family of athletes with both parents having played collegiate level football. His started his football journey with Brackley Town's youth team but only stayed there for 1 year as his family had to shift back to the USA.

Back in the US, he joined the Michigan Rush, again just for a year-long stint before his family returned to Hershey where he joined the U.S Soccer Development Academy club PA classics. Pulisic trained there for 8 years before Dortmund came calling for his signature.

Dortmund signed a 16-year-old Pulisic in the February of 2015 and immediately assigned him to their U17 squad. By the summer of 2015, he was promoted to their U19 squad. He was so impressive that inside 15 games, he racked up 10 goals and 8 assists for Dortmund youth teams.

Impressed by his performance, the coaching staff included him into the first team squad. Pulisic made his senior team debut on 26 January 2016 against FC Ingolstadt.

Primarily an attacking midfielder, Pulisic can play at a multitude of positions, be it the either on the wing or behind the striker as a number 10. What sets him apart is his technical ability, creativity, first touch and composure on the ball which makes him an exciting talent to watch out for.

His ability to create something out of nothing and direct running have left many a defender chasing his shadow. Pulisic's playmaking ability is the most underrated aspect of his game, as is his defensive prowess.

Pulisic is being heralded as USA football's team's saviour and has already made 19 appearances for them at such a young age. He was also a part of their youth set-up with appearances for their U15 and U17 teams.

A look at USA's football superstar: