As transfers go, it is perhaps not quite as much of a coup as Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, but Bayern Munich are still mighty proud of their latest signing.
Canadian teenage sensation made the move of his life when he signed for Bayern this week, and Bayern are delighted to have beaten other big clubs to the punch.
Only time will tell whether they are right to be. Davies could be the biggest bargain of the summer, or he could be another Renato Sanches.
Bayern Munich pulled off a surprise transfer with the signing of Alphonso Davies
Davies had made huge impressions in the MLS with his former club Vancouver Whitecaps
‘Alphonso Davies is a huge talent,’ said Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. ‘He already has fantastic ability, and it isn’t for nothing that many of Europe’s top clubs wanted to sign him.’
The 17-year-old is the latest teenage wonder to spark the interest of Europe’s elite. Slithering through defences in the MLS, and scoring three goals in six international appearances for Canada, Davies had reportedly been on the radar at several clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United.
In the end, it was Bayern who won the race, agreeing a deal with the Vancouver Whitecaps which could see them pay up to £17m for the young winger, an MLS record.
Davies completed a medical in Philadelphia this week, linking up with his new employers on their pre-season tour of the US. He will not join Bayern until January, however, so as to see out the end of the MLS season with the Whitecaps, and also turn 18 years old before he moves to Munich.
The 17-year-old Canada international was wanted by a host of top European teams
The youngster’s talent is beyond doubt. His blistering performances for Canada at last year’s Gold Cup caught the eye of the world. Former Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has played against Davies for Chicago Fire, was full of praise.
‘With his pace and his technique, he has big potential,’ said Schweinsteiger this week. ‘If he works hard, particularly on his defensive qualities, then he can make it in Europe.’
For all the excitement, there is also the odd raised eyebrow. £17m is a lot of money for a teenager, especially one who has only scored a handful of goals in the MLS. Bayern, meanwhile, will be chastened by their experiences with Renato Sanches.
The Portuguese midfielder joined Bayern for £35m on the back of his fantastic performances at Euro 2016, and has since become a byword for failed promise. After a mediocre first year at Bayern, he endured a miserable loan spell at Swansea. Now, the Portuguese is hoping to reboot his career under new boss Niko Kovac. Many fear that Davies will suffer a similar fate.
‘Davies is a trial-and-error transfer,’ wrote the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. ‘Nobody can tell how his body and his game will develop. But that is a risk which Bayern are taking increasingly often.’
With a fee set to rise to £17million, Davies will be the most expensive ever export from the MLS
Renato Sanches was another high profile youngster who moved to Bayern, but so far flopped
Dale Jennings, Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg, Mitchell Weiser. Those are just some of the names of young talents who Bayern have pounced upon as teenagers in recent years, only to offload them a few seasons later. Like those three, Davies will start in Bayern’s reserve team, and may find it extremely difficult to break into the senior set-up.
In many ways, the tactic of gambling on younger players makes sense. Bayern are increasingly aware that they cannot keep up with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain when it comes to transfer fees.
They have also tended to enjoy more success with teams made up of players who have come through their own ranks, and having just invested over £50m in a new academy, the club are keen to build their success on youth development.
The fans have also grown restless in recent years, complaining about the lack of opportunities for young players in the Bayern first team.
One of Kovac’s tasks will be to make space for the next generation, to which Davies certainly belongs. In that respect, it could plausibly be the perfect time for the young Canadian to make the move to Bayern.
Toni Kroos and more recently Joshua Kimmich, meanwhile, are living proof that sometimes, Bayern sign a teenager and make him a star.
Joshua Kimmich is proof that Bayern can sign a teenager and turn them into a global star
Yet both of those players came from other German clubs. They emerged, broadly speaking, from the same system, a system with a now proven record of producing World Cup winners. Alphonso Davies is not of that system.
The one player who has taken a similar path to him in recent years is Christian Pulisic, and even he was a few years younger than Davies is now when he moved to Dortmund in 2015.
The brutal reality is that Davies is more likely to end up as the next Renato Sanches, or even the next Dale Jennings, rather than the next Christian Pulisic or Toni Kroos. His job now is to prove everyone wrong.