Raphaël Guerreiro

Raphaël Guerreiro is difficult to file neatly, which is usually a sign that the footballer is more interesting than the label. Left back, wing back, interior midfielder, advanced connector: he has moved through all of them with the same soft touch and intelligent left foot. At Lorient he looked like a technical full back with upside, at Borussia Dortmund he became a sophisticated possession player, and with Portugal he helped win Euro 2016 while offering balance on the left. He is not a defensive monster in the old full back tradition, and powerful wingers can test him physically, but his value with the ball is exceptional: passing angles, combinations, underlapping runs, set piece quality and calm in tight spaces. At Bayern, his later role confirmed the same theme, useful because he can change the shape of a team without changing shirt number. Guerreiro is a technical problem solver, a left sided specialist with midfielder instincts.