Real Madrid are looking to secure the services of Raphael Guerreiro, who has been identified as the desired target of his Portugal teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Amid speculation regarding his future with Real Madrid next season Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t stopped playing an important role in the club, as it seems. A few years ago, the Portuguese superstar was asked as to whom he’d take to Madrid from either of the German giants in Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
“Perhaps my team-mate in Portugal, Raphael Guerreiro.” – was Ronaldo’s answer to the 11Freunde magazine’s question. However, almost two years later, Spanish news outlet Don Balon claim that Real Madrid are indeed interested in making a move for the Borussia Dortmund starlet this summer.
Raphael Guerreiro was arguably the second most impressive player for Portugal during their European Championship triumph in 2016. While the Golden Boy Renato Sanches has somewhat drifted in the wrong direction when it comes to making his mark in European football, Guerreiro has enjoyed steady growth after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2016.
In his maiden season in the German top flight, the former Lorient defender-cum-midfielder played a crucial role as Borussia Dortmund enjoyed their best ever finish to a Bundesliga campaign. Although the Black and Yellows ultimately failed to topple Bayern Munich, Guerreiro’s extraordinary technical qualities were clearly evident in Thomas Tuchel’s Juego de posicion (positional play).
Blessed with incredible awareness and spectacular close control, Guerreiro is a smart operator on the pitch, who is capable of creating a lot of chances from wider positions. Even though he has been generally labelled as a left-back, Guerreiro is versatile enough to operate as a left winger and even as a central midfield, if necessary.
In addition, the 24-year-old is very proficient when it comes to set-pieces. Evident in his performances with Borussia Dortmund as well as the Portuguese national team, Guerreiro is mainly tasked with the responsibility of taking corners and free-kicks. Furthermore, his overall intelligence coupled with his immense close control enables him to pose a strong threat in the final third.
Therefore, the Borussia Dortmund star could be a valuable addition to Real Madrid, who are currently lacking in options in the left-back department. Marcelo has been incredible for Los Blancos in the past couple of years but his overall progress at the Bernabeu has been stifled with frequent injuries.
In addition, Theo Hernandez has also failed to lay his mark in the first team and thus, the European champions could definitely use someone like Raphael Guerreiro next season.
The Dortmund ace has shown immense quality during his two seasons at the club and is more than capable of transforming into a key asset for Los Blancos in the long term. However, with the player being rated highly in the BVB camp, it could prove to be difficult for Real Madrid to secure his services this summer.
