Manchester United are set for another transfer triumph over Real Madrid, with the Red Devils pushing hard for Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies.
United blew the La Liga giants out of the water to sign Leny Yoro from Lille in the summer, and are reportedly on course to repeat the trick to pick up the flying full-back for free next year.
Davies’ contract expires in 2025 meaning there will be no transfer fee to negotiate, so it all comes down to personal terms.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, via Sport Witness, it is “mainly Manchester United” who are “bidding hard” for Davies.
The Old Trafford club are up against a hard-nosed agent in Nedal Huoseh, who is trying to “make the most of the situation” for his client.
For that reason, along with the obvious talent and quality of Davies, it is entirely unsurprising to see Huoseh briefing that there are a host of other clubs competing for the full-back’s signature.
He has already rubbished claims of a deal already being in place for the Canadian to join Real Madrid.
And AS report that Los Blancos have already submitted their final offer to the agent and won’t enter into a battle with other clubs.
This opens the door for United, whose need for a world-class left-back trumps almost anyone else’s.
Real operate with Ferland Mendy in that role, whereas Erik ten Hag wasn’t able to field a natural left-back once this season before he was sacked, due to injury to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.
The role was filled by a rotating cast of stand-ins, mostly Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui with assistance from Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans.
New boss Ruben Amorim’s preference for a 3-4-3 formation places a lot of demand on wing-backs, and United are widely expected to dive into the market to reinforce that position as a priority.
Davies fits the bill on the pitch and in the ledger, and Sport Witness note that it is his contract situation more than anything that sparked Real Madrid’s interest.
It was reported last week that Barcelona were close to Davies, with manager Hansi Flick keen to reunite with him after the pair worked together in Bavaria.
Featured image Alex Grimm via Getty Images
Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
