Man United given warning as transfer target branded ‘defensively mediocre’ in crushing defeat



Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies received some strong criticism after a poor display for the club in their 4-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League last night.

The Canada international is normally a world class performer and key player for Bayern, but it wasn’t his best night for the club last night as they were battered by a far superior Barca side.

Davies just couldn’t handle the classy Barcelona attackers, with Raphinha hitting a hat-trick on the night, while Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal was always a threat.

This could perhaps serve as a warning to Manchester United, who have been linked recently as potential suitors for Davies as he nears the end of his contract at the Allianz Arena, as per Florian Plettenberg…

?? Alphonso #Davies is one of Manchester United’s desired transfer targets for the upcoming summer ??

??The Red Devils have already gathered information, but they don’t consider their chances to be very high / #MUFC

??The 23-year-old left-back is in improving form. Currently,… pic.twitter.com/z4XUSRtSK2

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) October 15, 2024

United have issues at left-back at the moment after so many injury problems for the likes of Luke Shaw and Tyrrell Malacia, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Davies is the answer.

Alphonso Davies transfer: Should Manchester United explore alternatives?

One imagines there’ll be a few names on United’s list in that position, so maybe Davies isn’t the only one, and it will be interesting to note if clubs take notice of his harsh rating from Bild, as cited by the Daily Mail.

The report quotes Bild as describing Davies as ‘defensively mediocre’ – and that’s certainly not the kind of thing that’ll impress any United scouts who might have been watching.

Alphonso Davies in action in Barcelona 4-1 Bayern (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
 

Davies can certainly do better than this, so might benefit from playing at a different club and under a different manager, with the jury still out on Vincent Kompany, who was a surprise appointment as Bayern manager in the first place.

The Belgian tactician was relegated with Burnley last season, though he’s long been respected and highly regarded in the game, and it seems that convinced Bayern to gamble on him, though it remains to be seen how much longer they’ll stick with the former Manchester City captain.