Should Borussia Dortmund look to replace Raphaël Guerreiro with David Raum?

Comparison of play styles

When it comes to comparing both Raphaël Guerreiro and David Raum, it’s important that we take a closer look at the player we already have at the club. The Portuguese international has been a hallmark of Borussia Dortmund’s strongest XI whenever fit and on his game. His play style is very much known for excellent footwork, the ability to dribble past players, and link up well with his teammates down the left. In many circles he is regarded as Dortmund’s most technically gifted footballer.

While Rapha excels in terms of his attacking traits, he has on several occasions come up short on the defensive end of things, which is a rather important part of the role he plays on the pitch. He has had some substantial lapses in terms of tracking back and defensive positioning that have led to chances on goal that could have otherwise been avoided. Couple this with his injury history and he can at times be a liability for his side, despite all of his offensive creativity.

In David Raum, Hoffenheim have a player of a similar creative pedigree, who fits the role of a modern attacking fullback with ease. He is known for the energy he puts into going forward and his ability to provide pinpoint precision crosses to create dangerous chances for his side. Over the course of this previous season, Raum ranked number one in terms of big chances created by defenders in Europe’s top five leagues with a total of 19, one ahead of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

On the defensive end however, Raum also seems to find himself in a similar position as Rapha. His overall defensive performances and the second half of Hoffenheim’s season suggest that Raum really excels in attack but is rather average in his defensive contribution. Some of the downsides to his defensive output that have been noted relate to poor decision making and rash challenges. This may be something of a concern to any potential club looking to splash cash on Raum. This is however the typical profile of the modern fullback, which is a position that seems to lean more and more towards attack than it does towards contributing to defensive structure and cohesiveness.