Alphonso Davies will join Bayern Munich’s first team, not Bayern II

Bild paradoxically saved the most exciting news about Alphonso Davies to the last paragraph of an interview with Whitecaps goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic: on January 1, 2019, when Alphonso Davies officially joins Bayern Munich, he will not join Bayern II at the U23 level as many had anticipated — and feared — but rather will join the first team. Bayern will start the Rückrunde in 2019 with a brand new winger on the team.

Salihamidzic promised,

He should follow in the footsteps of the greats sooner or later, and we will try to bring him to that point as quickly as possible.

That news is very exciting for fans of the club, who had fretted over the summer about Bayern’s relatively quiet transfer window — quiet, that is, at least until the club signed Davies for an MLS record sum of €14 million with add-ons bringing the total close to €19 million ($22 million US).

Thus, Bayern may have a total of five natural wingers on the roster: hoary veterans Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, the fleet-footed Kingsley Coman, returnee from Hoffenheim Serge Gnabry, and Davies waiting in the wings. Niko Kovac has repeatedly emphasized his dedication to molding young players into stars, and Davies could benefit massively on the biggest stage possible.

The Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper, Marinovic, gave the following mouthwatering description of the 17-year-old’s talents:

He is the fastest player in the MLS — brutally fast. And strong with the ball at his feet and unpredictable for the defense. He has an enormous pull toward the goal. As a player, a little like Robben. He’s a really exciting player. And he has so much potential; he will still get much better.

Marinovic also had only good things to say about Davies’s character and rapport with the team:

He’s down-to-earth, not aloof, not egotistical on the pitch. In the locker room, you can have a lot of fun with him. He’s a happy, funny guy. Loud, but in a positive way.

Bayern Munich may indeed hold off on purchasing more wingers in the knowledge that such a dynamic player will join the team for the business-end of the season.