Jeremie Frimpong or Noussair Mazraoui? Which right-back should Borussia Dortmund set their sights on this summer?

Playstyle and stats

In selecting which of these two players would be a better fit next season’s Borussia Dortmund squad, we of course have to take a look at what sort of playstyle both Mazraoui and Frimpong offer.

Starting with the former, it is very clear that Mazraoui, as a right-back, is far more akin to what we saw when Achraf Hakimi played for Dortmund; an attack-minded, high octane full-back. Mazraoui has a total of 5 goals and 4 assists in 27 matches across the Dutch Eredivisie and Champions League combined.

He is a player who attempts a high amount of dribbles per 90 minutes (1.43) for someone who plays in his position and also has a high completion rate for said attempted dribbles.

Mazraoui also boasts a high pass completion rate, which sits at 85.9% per 90 minutes. He also averages 6.03 progressive passes per game which further underlines his attacking intent. He does seem to lack a bit on the defensive end according to the stats however, particularly in terms of his defensive duels won. As of February, Mazraoui sat below the league average in this respect. He does make up for this a bit in terms of his numbers regarding tackles (3.65), interceptions (2.38), which still put him at a high percentile when compared to other full-backs in Europe’s top 5 leagues.

In Frimpong, Dortmund are potentially looking at a similarly attack-minded player. Frimpong is both pacy and direct in his approach play and, just like Mazraoui, he isn’t afraid to try and dribble past opponents. Frimpong has 1 goal and 7 assists across 30 appearances in the Bundesliga as well as the Europa League this season.

Unlike Mazraoui, however, Frimpong’s numbers in terms of tackles (1.41) and interceptions (1.63) per game are not as high. He does have a similar pass completion percentage (82.4%) and yet he has far less progressive passes per 90 than Mazraoui (2.81).

The differences in numbers must of course be taken with a grain of salt as overall the Bundesliga’s quality may not allow for the same freedom of play that Mazraoui may have when playing for Ajax in the Eredivisie, and that is of course something to consider when a player makes a move abroad to another league.

Borussia Dortmund don’t have to look far for an example to put this in perspective. Donyell Malen’s move from the Eredivisie to the Bundesliga was far from smooth, particularly in the early stages. Despite Mazraoui’s overall better numbers, it may also take time for him to get used to the league, which is something Dortmund will need to take into account when pursuing either player.