During the eerie lockdown days of matches played behind closed doors, one of the few benefits was the ability to overhear the running dialogue between top-level footballers.
At Bayern Munich, when Radio Thomas Muller had a brief moment of respite, David Alaba emerged as one of the prevailing voices, offering a continuous stream of instructions for Alphonso Davies that echoed around the empty Allianz Arena.
“He gives me a lot of information,” Davies mentioned at the time. “He makes sure I’m in the game. Communication is key, and I’m happy he’s constantly talking to me on the pitch.”
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Even after Alaba’s move to Real Madrid in 2021, this dialogue continued. Davies’ agent Nedal Huoseh revealed earlier this season that the pair still “talk all the time.”
“The conversations they have together in private, Davies doesn’t share all the information with me about it, but I’m sure David would like to play with him again,” hinted Huoseh.
With Davies’ future at Bayern uncertain, Real Madrid has emerged as a prime contender to entice the fleet-footed full-back away from Bavaria. Here’s why the Spanish giants are so eager to recreate the loquacious linkup between Alaba and Davies.
The unmistakable quality that stands out whenever Davies takes the field is the scorch marks he leaves while sprinting across the turf. Muller bestowed the moniker ‘FC Bayern’s Roadrunner’ upon Davies after he caught Erling Haaland, then of Borussia Dortmund, with a sprint that reached an impressive 35.3 km/hr (21.9 mph).
Once again, no player in the Bundesliga has recorded a faster top speed than Davies this season (according to the league’s official website). Even more impressively, Davies has accumulated the second-highest number of sprints across the entire division, averaging more than 34 per 90 minutes.
This exceptional physicality is directed towards retrieving any loose ball on the left half of the pitch. Despite Bayern boasting the highest possession figures in the division, providing their players with fewer opportunities to regain possession, only one Bundesliga player has made more recoveries than Davies this season.
Davies’ output becomes even more impressive when considering this context. For every 1,000 opposition touches, Davies makes 15 recoveries—the best ratio of any defender across Europe’s top five leagues.
When Davies successfully regains possession, he doesn’t merely pass it to a more skilled teammate. Despite his speed, there is a graceful touch to Davies’ game.
Always with an eye on the future, Madrid aren’t targeting a move for Davies until next summer. By that point, the Canada international will only have one year left on a Bayern contract he has shown little eagerness to renew.