REAL MADRID
Analysing Real Madrid’s full-backs if Alphonso Davies signs: will the club sell Mendy or Fran García?
The Canadian left-back has reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Spanish club, but his position already has two occupants.
Real Madrid continue to play a real life version of your favourite console game, and seemingly look set to land another gang of world-class names to their already bulging squad. The day after they beat Sevilla 1-0 thanks to a late Modric strike, attention has turned back to transfers. Alphonso Davies is the latest name to have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Spanish club - but could his signing constitute a problem for Carlo Ancelotti?
The Canadian full-back’s camp have been in contact with Real Madrid “for some time” and The Athletic say that the 14-time European champions “have asked him since the beginning of the talks not to renew his contract” so that he can join in either 2024 or 2025.
Comparing Davies to Mendy and Fran García
Undoubtedly, signing a player of Davies’ class would improve the floor level of Real Madrid’s squad; while the two options they have at left-back are solid and Carlo Ancelotti even called one of them “the best in the world in his position”, one cannot help but think that Davies would increase the output in both defensive and attacking metrics.
Interestingly, when we look at the stats (from BeSoccerPro), we can see that the standout metric is actually the one that isn’t there: Ferland Mendy does not lead in any of the statistics available, with Fran García and Alphonso Davies battling it out for first place, sitting way ahead of the Frenchman. It was precisely Mendy who was named by Ancelotti as “the best in the world” earlier in February, only adding to the mystery.
Will Real Madrid sell a left-back if Davies arrives?
Davies, who has played 27 times in all competitions for Bayern this season, scoring one goal and adding three assists, would most likely demand a starting position in the side, given his status as one of the world’s top full-backs. That would mean both Mendy and Fran García would be relegated to the bench and as such, be fighting to be the second-choice left-sided defender in the team: a simply unworkable situation.
In terms of who the club would sell, it is pure speculation and no rumours have emerged of the Spanish giants looking to offload either full-back a this moment. A human with a penchant for betting might say that more money is to be made from Fran García (23): he is 5 years younger than Mendy (28) and has a longer future ahead of him, as well as a huge potential that put some of his (above) statistics up there with Davies who, curiously, is a year younger than García. There is also the other option of a loan for the Spaniard, as well as a buy-back clause, which would not be an atypical move for Real Madrid.
However, does that mean he’s more likely to have a market or that he is more likely to be able to evolve at Madrid? I suppose it depends on what happens in the meantime: the report claims that the Canadian won’t sign until at least this summer, and by then things could have changed drastically at the club. And would you look at that, we’ve managed to get through a Real Madrid piece without mentioning Kylian Mbappé...