Bayern Munich youngster Alphonso Davies credits David Alaba for his easy transition to left back

Alphonso Davies is living the dream at the moment, being part of a very solid back four for Bayern Munich. The young Canadian has capitalized on the absences of Niklas Sule and Lucas Hernandez, and coach Hansi Flick has him playing at left-back week-in, week-out. Usually, David Alaba plays on the left-back position, but given that the Austrian has now shifted to center-back, a space has opened up for Davies to make his own.

In a recent interview with BayernTV (via bundesliga.com), Davies talked about his life in Munich and his relationship with his colleagues and his family.

Getting to play with [the team] in the Bundesliga, Champions League, and DFB Cup is just a dream come true. My family’s really proud of me. They call me after every single game and tell me: ‘we love you, keep going, we’re proud of you son’.

The 19-year-old has featured in eight matches and started four times so far this season, notching up an impressive 662 minutes for the first team. Speaking about his role, Davies said,

Luckily the coach sees something in me and plays me every week. As a left-back or a winger, it doesn’t matter. Whichever one he puts me in I’m able to do the job.

It is interesting to see his friendship with David Alaba growing strong. Franck Ribery helped the Austrian defender settle in with the first team, and that move made one of the best LW-LB partnerships in football. Now, Alaba seems to be doing the same with Davies, which is a lovely thing to see.

I have a guy like David Alaba beside me who is one of the best left-backs in the world and he’s helping me out. I’m very grateful for that. Being able to transition from a winger to a left-back was pretty easy for me because during my time at Vancouver I used to play there as well. So me playing left-back is just about learning the position more and more.

Bayern’s interim coach Hansi Flick sees potential in the youngster and also praised his work in recent weeks:

He’s been doing a really good job. I must admit he surprised me a bit, particularly how he performed against Dortmund and how he defended against Achraf Hakimi and Jadon Sancho, who are two fast, top-quality players. He did really well. I think he’ll bring us even more joy if he can continue to improve in a couple of areas in attack. He’s a young player with a great deal of potential and Bayern will certainly benefit from that.

Everyone at Bayern likely shares Flick’s sentiment and hopes that Davies can continue his development into a top level player. We at BFW wish him all the best.