The decision to ‘overlook’ Bayern Munich wing-back Alphonso Davies in 2017 made his transfer to Man Utd in 2025 a ‘tough sell’ for the Red Devils, according to reports.
Man Utd spent around £180m on new signings in the summer transfer window as they looked to support Erik ten Hag ahead of the new season.
However, just nine Premier League matches into the new season, the Red Devils made the decision to sack Ten Hag and hire Ruben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon.
There was very limited money to spend to help Amorim improve his squad in January and there were rumours in December that Man Utd were looking to secure the free signing of Davies from Bayern Munich ahead of the summer.
But Davies is now close to signing a new contract at the Allianz Arena with Man Utd moving on and bringing in Patrick Dorgu from Lecce in the winter market.
The wing-back positions are crucial to the way Amorim wants to play and the huge difference in wages between Davies and Dorgu could be eventually be a blessing if the Denmark international fulfills his potential.
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The Athletic has revealed the details of Man Utd missing out on Davies, they wrote on Tuesday:
‘In autumn, calls were placed by United’s director of scouting Steve Brown to those representing Alphonso Davies, whose contract at Bayern Munich is due to run out in summer 2025. But United had previously overlooked Davies when first recommended to the club by scout Jorge Alvial in 2017, and that rejection was always going to make the move a tough sell now.
‘Real Madrid were also interested in Davies, who was allowed to talk to foreign clubs ahead of free agency, but the 24-year-old is now close to signing a lucrative new contract at Bayern, extending his time in Germany after signing from Vancouver Whitecaps in 2019.
‘Even if Davies had arrived as a free agent in the summer, he would have commanded a salary towards the higher end of United’s wage structure, in sharp contrast to the player eventually signed to be Amorim’s left wing-back.
‘Patrick Dorgu will earn around £40,000 a week at Old Trafford — a fair wage for a relatively unproven 20-year-old playing only his third season of senior football, but also a salary for a first-team level player that helps reset expectations after years of wasteful spending.
‘On top of Dorgu’s modest wages, Lecce’s initial demands of around €40m (£33.2m) were brought down by United’s director of negotiations Matt Hargreaves to an initial €30m plus a further €5m in add-ons.
‘United’s limited budget was well-documented coming into the window, with concerns over both compliance with financial fair play regulations and the club’s level of cash resources, but the Dorgu deal was viewed as achievable due to its reasonable cost.’
