Who Will Replace Raphael Guerreiro?
It would seem that the Borussia Dortmund hospital has gained another patient. Raphael Guerreiro has just recently undergone surgery on his foot. You can learn more details about his injury here in another article on BVB Buzz.
As he will be out for several months, it is now up to Peter Bosz to choose his starting left-back. Bosz has a broad range of options, so his choice will be a tough one.
Marcel Schmelzer
My first choice would be Marcel Schmelzer. Not only is he the only player who consistently shares the starting position with Guerreiro, but he’s reliable as well. The club’s captain has years of experience as a Dortmund player, which is invaluable on such a young team.
His work rate is nothing short of amazing, and he has excellent distributing qualities when he works his way up the left flank. Schmelzer plays as a wingback, giving the left winger the chance to move into the box into a goalscoring position. His pace and crossing ability make him lethal on the wing, and his defensive capabilities put him as one of the most well-rounded players in Germany.
Schmelzer is also a Dortmund Academy graduate. He’s only worn the yellow shirt for his professional career, which makes him one of my favorite players. It would be in the best interests of the team if the seasoned veteran were to be the starting left-back for the majority of the time that Guerreiro’s out.
Erik Durm
25-year-old Erik Durm has been a backup fullback at Borussia Dortmund for some time now. Last season Thomas Tuchel mainly deployed him as a right-back, where he looked out of place. It is my opinion that the right-back position is in safe hands under Lukasz Piszczek and Felix Passlack.
Durm spends a lot of time on the bench or plays in DFB matches. He has the misfortune of having Schmelzer and Guerreiro ahead of him on the depth chart, but with Guerreiro injured now we might see him get some more playing time where he can prove his worth to new manager Peter Bosz.
Durm has also shown that he can function in the attacking role that Guerreiro and Schmelzer play. He registered just as many assists as Schmelzer last season (3) while having played 1500 fewer minutes per WhoScored.
Park Joo-Ho
Yes. He still exists. Why Dortmund has held onto him is still a mystery. Der BVB signed him in 2015 to be the backup left-back to Marcel Schmelzer along with Erik Durm. There’s not a lot to say about the South Korean. He made a total of 2 competitive appearances last season for Dortmund, adding up to 65 minutes played.
Park is 30 years old, so if he wants to make anything with the rest of his career, he needs to leave if Bosz doesn’t make it clear that he will get playing time.
Outside Hires?
Though it seems unlikely, there is a possibility that the incoming Bosz makes the decision to bring in another left-back. There are just a few options that seem good enough for Borussia Dortmund. Wendell from Bayer Leverkusen is a realistic option.
Leverkusen looks like they might not be able to hold onto several of their key players. In the past, Wendell has been linked with Real Madrid and has even expressed his immense desire to play for them, but those rumors have since then died down. Wendell has Bundesliga experience which would make him valuable for Der BVB.
One also has to consider the possibility that Peter Bosz will bring in players from his former club, Ajax Amsterdam. This player could be Daley Sinkgraven or Jairo Riedewald, both of which are young talents.
Former Ajax players, who could make a move to Dortmund, also aren’t limited to the left-back position, with striker Kasper Dolberg seeming like a player who could fill in the backup role behind Aubameyang.
There are plenty of players who could fill in Guerreiro’s position while he’s out. Dortmund’s depth chart is full, and I have faith in Peter Bosz to choose the best player to fill in Guerreiro’s spot.