Niko Kovač thinks Alphonso Davies might be ready for first team minutes

One nugget that slipped through Niko Kovač’s press conference ahead of the Eintracht Frankfurt game last week was the Bayern Munich coach’s assessment of Canadian wunderkind, Alphonso Davies.

After having some time to assess Davies and how he compares to some of the other young talent in Munich, Kovač seems pretty confident that the 18-year-old will be able to contribute soon to Bayern’s first team.

As first reported by Sport1 (via MLS.com), Kovač can already see the ability and quality of Davies.

If I compare him with our U-23s, then he is already ahead of the others. He has to acclimate, that’s clear. But he has quality and we will not slow him down if he can help us.

The integration of Davies will come at an interesting time. Bayern should have all four wingers healthy by the time the team reconvenes for training camp. Kingsley Coman missed significant time in the first half, while Arjen Robben and Serge Gnabry also battled through various ailments. Interestingly, the oldest of the bunch, Franck Ribery, only suffered minor knocks that did not see him miss an extended period.

Will Davies be pushed into the wing rotation immediately or will he settle into a depth role behind David Alaba at left back until he is deemed fully ready to go? Kovač has many options on how he can deploy Davies.

One thing is certain, however, as Kovač’s roster flexibility will certainly be enhanced when he can add the former Vancouver Whitecaps man to the game day roster.