Why Niklas Süle could be the answer to Borussia Dortmund and Germany’s prayers | OneFootball

This season has been a significantly difficult one for Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Süle. Despite playing a crucial role for BvB last season as Die Schwarzgelben came close to dethroning Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga, Süle has been unable to find his feet this term.

Instead, Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck have become Edin Terzić’s go-to centre-back partnership, while the 28-year-old has been forced to venture onto Dortmund’s bench. Nevertheless, while the Black and Yellows have identified a solid centre-back partnership, they have had to contend with issues at fullback, with Ramy Bensebaini and Marius Wolf struggling for form.

Therefore, on Tuesday evening, Süle was drafted in at right-back in place of Wolf and performed admirably. His performance helped Dortmund claim another clean sheet against Newcastle, as their 2-0 win propelled them to the top of Group F.

Nevertheless, while Süle proved his quality, as reported by Bild, he does not view himself as a right-back. While away with Germany on international duty, Julian Nagelsmann attempted to utilise the 28-year-old out of position due to his lack of options in the right-back area, and Süle found himself at fault for both of Mexico’s goals as Germany drew 2-2.

Currently, Süle is not an option at right-back for Germany, and as previously covered, Joshua Kimmich or Pascal Groß would offer Nagelsmann more quality and consistency in that position. However, if he continues to perform for Dortmund, could the right-back position be Süle’s new home?

He has been limited for game time this season, and if the former Bayern defender wants to ensure that he is part of Germany’s squad for the European Championships, then he has to stand in for Terzić at full-back. With a crucial game against Stuttgart coming up on Saturday, it is expected that Süle will start at right-back once again, and another solid performance could see him make that possession permanent.

GGFN | Will Shopland