Manchester United have such a puzzle at the left back position, which has been complicated further by a constant revolving door of injuries to Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw, who have been out for months.
In their steads, Manchester United have actually been better at left back by starting inverted right backs Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui, who have proven to be two of the best fullbacks in the world.
Dalot was the established option at right back but shifted to the left after Shaw’s injury and the signing of Mazraoui, shining on the left side. Then, it was Mazraoui’s turn to do the same in a recent Premier League encounter against Chelsea.
In the long term, Manchester United will probably want to sign a more reliable true left back, someone who is world-class and can get forward and defend at a high level at the same time.
Shaw is a quality left back when healthy, but, at this stage, Manchester United can’t really rely on him for an extended period of time. The solution may be a top option on the transfer market.
Next summer, an elite option will be available for free at left back in Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, whose future in the Bundesliga remains entirely up in the air despite an increasing likelihood of a new contract with Die Roten after the appointment of Vincent Kompany.
Real Madrid have been the club in hottest pursuit of Davies since the start of the last summer, but since they haven’t made a direct effort to sign him yet, Manchester United will be empowered to make a swoop, given a similar situation played out with Leny Yoro that ultimately led to the talented Frenchman’s arrival at Old Trafford.
According to reporting from Give Me Sport’s Dean Jones, Alphonso Davies is requesting a very modest fee from Manchester United as a free agent, as he would like a 10 million pound signing bonus with 240,000 pounds per week.
Those may seem like expensive figures, but in the modern game, they are pretty low for a world-class free agent with interest from elite clubs at an in-demand, position-scarce area.
Davies could easily ask for double both numbers on the open market if he wanted to, and some team in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in Europe might consider meeting him closer to that figure than what’s currently asking for.
With so much attention on the Premier League, Manchester United and other English clubs are realizing that they now have more bargaining power than clubs like Bayern and Real Madrid.
Davies’ availability and affordability makes Man United’s future planning at left back that much more interesting, and with each passing week that Shaw and Malacia are out, the pendulum swings in unbalanced fashion towards the Canadian superstar.
Of course, Manchester United could buy Alvaro Carreras back from Benfica for even cheaper, and, if anything, that further complicates the situation, making Ruben Amorim’s decision about signing an elite player or a cheaper, next gen profile in Carreras.
