Despite winning an 11th successive Bundesliga title last season, Bayern Munich were not at their best and the same can be said about Canadian fullback Alphonso Davies, whose form also took a dip last season. After hitting world-class levels in the treble winning season, a lot is expected of the left back, but last season saw the 22-year-old’s form suffer with both injuries and the mid-season World Cup playing a part, as well as Bayern’s collective issues.
The early signs this season however are looking very good for Bayern, but definitely bad for the rest of the Bundesliga as he has been one of the Rekordmeister’s stand-out players with an already blossoming understanding with new striker Harry Kane.
Last season saw Davies suffer a hamstring injury in November, which threatened his participation in the World Cup and then in April a torn muscle bundle kept him out for six matches. Bayern’s January loan acquisition of Joao Cancelo gave the team an alternative to the Canadian. He scored once last season and provided four assists, but there was a slight concern at the club that his development had started to plateau.
The summer break seems to have done the player the world of good and in the first two games of the new season, he has already provided three assists (two for Kane and one for Mathys Tel). He already looks to have developed an instant rapport with English-speaking Kane and his overlapping runs down the left have been a key feature of Bayern’s two wins so far. His run and pass for Kane’s debut goal versus Werder looks like a blueprint that will repeated on numerous occasions this season. Knowing what’s coming is one thing, stopping it will be quite the other.
Davies is currently joint second in the entire league for shot creating actions (14) behind Florian Wirtz (16). He’s tied with Jamal Musiala overall for successful take-on’s, leads the league for progressive distance carried and ranks seventh overall for touches in the attacking third.
His current Bayern contract runs until June 2025 and the club will no doubt be looking to get that extended sooner rather than later based on current displays. A return to prime Alphonso Davies form will only awaken the interest of the big players in the European game and the Bavarians will want to secure the speedster’s long-term future.
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