Julian Weigl discusses Thomas Tuchel, Daniel Farke and wanting to stay at Borussia Mönchengladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Julian Weigl has confirmed his desire to remain at the Bundesliga club on a permanent basis. Speaking to dedicated club magazine ‘FohlenEcho – Das Magazin‘, Weigl discussed various topics including finding confidence at an early age, his decision to join Gladbach and playing for Daniel Farke.

At the age of 20, Weigl set the record for most touches in a Bundesliga game. When asked where the now 27-year-old gets his confidence from, Weigl credited Thomas Tuchel: “My coach at Dortmund, Thomas Tuchel, always gave me the feeling that he believed I was the right player for his possession-based style of play.”

Weigl played 94 games under Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund. Speaking about his development, Weigl added: “My game changed massively under Thomas.

“My strengths were really utilised in his system. He helped me so much tactically and really pushed me on. He explained what my strengths were and what I needed to improve on, whilst placing his faith in me, a 19-year-old, and building a good team around me in a central position.”

Weigl left Borussia Dortmund for Benfica for €20m in 2020 and played 115 games across all competitions for the Portuguese club. Upon returning to Germany, Daniel Farke was a big factor in Weigl’s reasoning behind joining Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer.

“He was the U23s coach at Dortmund when I was there. After a long spell out injured, I played a game for him,” said Weigl. “I understood quickly what kind of a guy he is, how he works, what he wants from his players and how he wants to play football.

“Once Borussia made contact, I thought the mix of the club, coach and me as a player would go well together. On top of that, Daniel made it clear during our phone calls that he really wanted me and I was therefore desperate to make this move.”

Weigl has played 12 games under Farke this season. Borussia Mönchengladbach settled on a loan deal after being priced out of signing the German midfielder on a permanent deal, but Weigl would be open to joining Die Fohlen when his loan spell ends in 2023.

“I’m somebody that generally likes to have continuity,” added Weigl. “I don’t want to keep moving clubs every year. I therefore carefully considered this move. I settled in really quickly here and could imagine myself staying here for a longer period, otherwise I wouldn’t be here at all. We’ll have to see what happens, I’m ultimately not the only person who will decide.”

The Bundesliga is on a break whilst the World Cup takes place and then the league goes on their annual winter break. Gladbach return against Bayer Leverkusen on January 22.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

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