Alphonso Davies is making an impressive comeback at FC Bayern. His strong performances could even earn him a new role on offense.
Alphonso Davies has been one of the pleasant surprises of FC Bayern’s still-young season. Given his long history of injuries and the signing of Nathaniel Brown, it was by no means certain what role the Canadian would play going forward. But the 25-year-old has made an impressive comeback.
In the Champions League opener against Bodo/Glimt, Davies was given the starting nod at left back and justified the trust placed in him with a strong performance that included a goal. Even after coming off the bench in the hard-fought 2-1 win over SV Elversberg, he immediately injected dynamism into Munich’s play and narrowly missed making it 3-1 just before the final whistle.
Davies had already set up a goal in the Bundesliga opener against Stuttgart. What’s particularly striking, however, is his long-standing strength in one-on-one situations: After three Bundesliga matchdays, he has nine successful dribbles and leads this statistic alongside Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa. Brajan Gruda, another trained attacking player, follows in third place.
Davies is thus currently demonstrating qualities that could be of interest to Vincent Kompany—and not just in the left-back position.
Could Davies suddenly become an alternative to Diaz?
While Davies has started the season strong, there are growing concerns on the left attacking wing. Luis Diaz is currently in a slump. Although the Colombian repeatedly finds himself in good scoring positions, he’s leaving too many opportunities unused. Most recently, his reckless backheel attempt in Elversberg even caused visible frustration among his teammates.
At the same time, Kompany lacks alternatives at that position. Following Arijon Ibrahimovic’s loan move to FC Augsburg, there is no traditional replacement for Diaz on the roster. This is exactly where Davies could come into play.
The Canadian has the speed and dribbling ability for a much more offensive role. This wouldn’t be completely new territory for him anyway. On the Canadian national team, Davies regularly plays further up front and thus has experience on the left offensive wing.
Added to this is the changed situation at left back. With Brown, Bayern signed another top-tier player for the left side this summer for 50 million euros. Josip Stanisic can also be deployed there. This would give Kompany the option to push Davies further forward without leaving a major gap at left back.
While a permanent position change isn’t on the horizon at the moment, Davies’ start to the season gives Kompany an additional option that could prove quite interesting given Diaz’s slump in form.
The competition with Brown doesn’t necessarily mean that the two are fighting exclusively for one spot. Perhaps the new roster situation even offers the Canadian the chance to showcase his greatest strength more often: creating danger in the opponent’s half with speed and one-on-one duels.