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Alphonso Davies is a current Bundesliga star, operating in the left-back position for Bayern Munich. The Canadian left-back joined the German Champions in July 2018 for a fee of $22 million from Vancouver Whitecaps, where he first burst onto the footballing scene, scoring 8 goals and assisting 5 in his final season at the club before departing. The 19-year-old has already made 17 appearances for the Canada national team, scoring 5 goals in the process.
Since joining Bayern Munich in 2018, Davies has excelled at left-back where he has often highlighted both his attacking and defensive capabilities. And since the transfer, the Canadian international's potential has only gone up, which has seen him become an integral part of the squad at the tender age of just 19.
This has also seen him recognised as one of the best teenage talents around and the youngster is up there with the likes of Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland as the Bundesliga's brightest prospects. The former MLS star has often been called upon to fill in at left-back.
This is a role that Davies has excelled in with his pace and power, playing a key role in his rise to the top which has seen him become one of the best young talents in Europe. Davies' defensive ability combined with his pace and skill going forward makes him the perfect modern-day fullback and the underlying numbers add value to this argument.
Davies has completed an average of 2.8 tackles per game this season which is more than the likes of Andy Roberson and Jordi Alba, who have registered 1.4 and 0.7 respectively. Moreover, it's not just the defensive part of the game that Davies often excels in, but also the attacking side of the game. The left-back completes an average of 3.3 dribbles every game, which once again smashes Alba's number of 0.6 out of the park and puts Davies in a league of his own when it comes to driving with the ball from the left-back position.
In fact, not even Marcelo can get close to the Bayern defenders' dribbling statistic with the Brazilian completing just 0.9 dribbles per game this season. These stats highlight the fact that Davies is already competing with the very best in the game, both defensively and offensively and these are traits that are key for a modern-day full-back.
Additionally, Davies' versatility may come in handy for Bayern Munich in the future with the Canadian's ability to play on the wings particularly useful. This means that in the long run, Bayern will not need to invest in finding a replacement for more than one position, including that of the influential David Alaba.
However, one thing that stands in the way of Davies’ development is game time. The Canadian has only featured in half of Bayern Munich’s Champions League games this season and although he has appeared in 15 out of 19 Bundesliga games this season, predominantly deputizing for Alaba. The Austrian has been moved to the centre of defence while Lucas Hernandez recovers from injury.
Unfortunately, when the Spanish defender is fully fit, Davies will likely see his game time become limited as Alaba will move to his favoured left side and therefore his development could well slow down as a result.
To conclude, Alphonso Davies is currently one of the best young talents in world football but he will need substantial game time to continue his development into and become a key player for the reigning Bundesliga champions.
