Examining How Raphael Guerreiro Might Fit Best in Borussia Dortmund's Plans

When Borussia Dortmund announced the capture of Raphael Guerreiro from Ligue 1 outfit FC Lorient in June, most fans will have quickly pigeonholed him as competition for long-serving left-back Marcel Schmelzer.

The €12 million signing was anything but a household name, and what little most people knew about him probably stemmed from watching Portugal's opening match at Euro 2016 two days before the transfer was confirmed by the club's official website—there aren't too many Lorient experts in Germany, after all.

The French-born Guerreiro played at left-back in the disappointing 1-1 draw with Iceland after seeing off the competition of the more experienced Eliseu in the buildup to the tournament, a position he would only relinquish twice because of slight knocks during the month in France.

The Black and Yellow faithful naturally watched Portugal's games with greater interest and will have grown more and more excited with their club's new signing. Guerreiro was arguably the best full-back of the competition and thoroughly deserved his inclusion in the official UEFA team of the Euros.

VI-Images/Getty Images

Bleacher Report's Mark Jones opined after Portugal's triumph over host nation France: "Throughout the tournament it became apparent that Dortmund had got themselves a bargain with the signing of 22-year-old left-back Guerreiro."

Indeed, one can only imagine what the Ruhr side would have had to pay for their man after the Euros—BVB chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke even said in an interview with local paper WAZ that he would be unaffordable at this stage.

In an already-inflated market, players with the pedigree of European champions seem to be even more expensive, as evidenced by the €40 million Inter Milan had to dish out for Sporting Lisbon's Joao Mario, per Transfermarkt.

There can be little doubt that getting Guerreiro for a comparatively modest fee was a shrewd deal, perhaps even the best of all eight signings Dortmund have completed over a busy summer transfer window.

Now, of course, the question is how he's going to fit in at the club. After a prolonged vacation following the Euro 2016 triumph, the 22-year-old has so far come off the bench for two cameos in the DFB-Pokal against Regionalliga side Eintracht Trier and on Matchday 1 of the Bundesliga season against Mainz 05.

Interestingly, he didn't play left-back in either appearance, continuing a trend from pre-season. Guerreiro routinely slotted into the team in midfield roles, be it in the centre or on the left wing.

Below, Bleacher Report takes a look at his positional fits in head coach Thomas Tuchel's system.

The Left-Back

Even though he hasn't played as a traditional left-back for the Black and Yellows so far, it remains entirely possible that he's going to settle down in what seems to be his most natural position.

Of course, Dortmund already have a strong starter in the perpetually underrated Schmelzer, who was named recently as captain by Tuchel.

Guerreiro impressed during the Euros with exceptional technique, arguably the German's biggest weakness. The new signing's first touch and qualities in dribbling speak of a player who's used to playing a more advanced role—even though Schmelzer also used to be an attacker in his youth.

The former Lorient man offers the complete package going forward, and his delivery both from dead balls and open play is magnificent.

As the clip below shows, he has the agility to burn past defenders and the presence of mind to take another look into the box before playing the clever cutback pass instead of a regular cross:

WyScout

Cutbacks have become a staple of Dortmund's attacking philosophy under Tuchel, with the team trying to overload on one flank before switching to the other side frequently. Guerreiro's technical qualities and calmness on the ball seem like a perfect match for that strategy.

Despite his slight build at 170 cm, he holds up well defensively. At the Euros, he only struggled a bit with the physically overwhelming Moussa Sissoko in the final. Guerreiro can be overpowered at times, but he's intelligent enough to time his challenges and position himself well for most duels.

One notable weakness, however, is his defending in transition, especially when facing his own goal. Guerreiro seems unaware of his surroundings at times, allowing runners behind his back to get to long switches from the other wing or to get into the penalty box, as shown below:

WyScout

A better first touch from the Girondins Bordeaux player would've spelled trouble for Lorient.

Opponents could exploit this area of his game through counter-attacks, which was Dortmund's biggest defensive weakness last season.

It's a bit of a conundrum for Tuchel: Guerreiro would make more sense than Schmelzer at left-back in games where the Black and Yellows can expect to see a vast majority of the ball thanks to his contributions going forward, but those are precisely the matches where teams try to catch Dortmund in transition.

It might be best, therefore, to play the Portugal international ahead of the team captain for now.

The Winger

That could mean that Guerreiro should be considered an attacking winger early in his Dortmund career, a position in which, as B/R's Clark Whitney noted, he played "more often than in defence over the last two years while at Lorient."

TF-Images/Getty Images

It would make sense, seeing as Tuchel places a lot of value on his wingers' defensive contributions.

Asked about club-record signing Andre Schurrle after the win over Trier, the 43-year-old said, per the club's official website: "There are not many offensive players who are also defined by their defensive play and have a very small ego. That's why we absolutely wanted to sign him."

The same logic can be applied to Guerreiro, a player with the technical abilities of an attacker and experience at full-back. 

Of course, Dortmund's depth chart on the wings is already crowded, with Marco Reus, Schurrle and Ousmane Dembele already claiming a starting spot, while Emre Mor and Christian Pulisic need playing time as well.

The Central Midfielder

The most intriguing fit for Guerreiro may well be in central midfield. Seeing as Dortmund didn't sign a like-for-like replacement for creative genius Ilkay Gundogan, who now plies his trade for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, there could be a vacancy for a player of the Portuguese's qualities.

Due to his strong technical abilities, he and Julian Weigl would form the club's most pressing-resistant duo in front of the back line. The 22-year-old has impressed in the short time he's spent in the middle of the park for Dortmund so far and seems to have the required vision and presence of mind to play inside.

Completing a strong 84.7 per cent of his passes while playing at full-back for Portugal in France, per WhoScored.com, Guerreiro has the aptitude to play accurate short passes to keep the tempo of Dortmund's passing high. He also has the range and technique to sprinkle in longer balls to make use of space, as the graphic below shows:

Wyscout

The 22-year-old doesn't just create for team-mates from central zones, he can also be dangerous himself, as evidenced by this beauty he scored for Lorient against Stade de Reims.

His slight build may be considered an issue when playing in central midfield, but in Weigl, he would have an excellent partner to police the zone ahead of the back line. The 20-year-old Germany international has the intelligence to position himself perfectly to shut down passing lanes.

In Sebastian Rode and Gonzalo Castro, Dortmund have two options for the spot next to Weigl who offer more physicality, especially in counter-pressing. However, Guerreiro may well be the perfect option to have as much creativity on the pitch as possible—especially against deep-sitting opponents.

It's likely that we'll get to see Guerreiro in all three roles at some point during the campaign, perhaps even in more than that.

In Tuchel, he has a coach who likes to mix and match and fit special game plans to certain types of opponents. Guerreiro could become a Swiss Army knife for Dortmund's head coach.

Lars Pollmann also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.