Manchester United's failure to win the Bayern iron gate is a foregone conclusion, and the Mourinho era missed a good opportunity! Rajue considered other candidates

Alphonso Davies' future will be one of the hottest rumours in European football for the next six months, with a contract extension for Bayern Munich, a free move to Real Madrid, or a move to Manchester United or other giants in the Premier League will be the rumoured options that the 24-year-old Canadian left-back's agent is interested in. The greater the competition, the more chaotic the situation, and the better it is for him to ask for a high salary. Ruben Amorim is looking to buy a replacement for injured Luke Shaw, but realistically the Reds are unlikely to get Davies.

In the coming weeks and months, Davies' name is likely to be heard on a regular basis, including Manchester United fans. With Bayern's contract set to expire in June, his future is uncertain. Back in February, he discussed with Real Madrid the possibility of joining this year or next, but it remains to be seen whether he will move to the Bernabeu.

Davies' current contract with Bayern was signed in April 2020 and will expire on June 30 next year. Signed at the time were Bayern general manager Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, sporting director Salihamidzic and CEO Kahn, former Bayern goalkeeper. Salihamidzic and Kahn tried to get Davis to sign a new contract earlier last year, but they were both fired in May and plans to extend their contracts fell through.

FIFA's current transfer rules allow Davies to negotiate as a free agent on January 1 next year with any club that wants him, a situation that Bayern are trying to avoid, and an opportunity that United want to try, and which is also a capital that Davies' agent intends to put to good use.

At the beginning of 2024, Bayern have stated both publicly and privately that Davies will either renew his contract or be sold in the upcoming summer transfer window because they don't want to lose him for free once his contract expires. In mid-March, the Bundesliga giants gave him a two-week ultimatum to give an answer to the five-year contract with an annual salary of 13 million euros on the table.

Davies eventually rejected the offer, but Bayern did not sell him. Because in June this year, Davies's agent and Max Eber, who took over as Bayern's sporting director in March, reached a contract extension agreement in principle.

New boss Vincent Kompany promised Davies a heavy use of him, but the board then shelved contract extension talks because they were unhappy with the player's performance in the second half of last season. This infuriated Davies's agent, so he created all kinds of rumors, and Real Madrid, Manchester United and even Barcelona were dragged into the farce.

The giants have indeed shown interest in Davis. One of the most striking is Real Madrid. They and the player's agent agreed on terms of the transfer in February, only to decide whether to spend money on the transfer or sign for free next summer, which will cost Davis a large signing fee.

But Real Madrid waited until the Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund in June to re-engage with Davies' agent team, and they have not made a formal offer to Bayern this summer, leaving Davies to wonder if Florentino Perez really wants to sign him.

Real Madrid have continued negotiations with Davies' agent this season, but there has been no concrete progress. Barcelona have also shown interest in Davies, but it is doubtful that they will have enough money, with Barca's wages exceeding La Liga's prescribed level and new signings such as Olmo having had problems registering.

Manchester United have also been revealed to be meeting with Davies' agent in January, but sources close to Bayern's iron gate say the turmoil at Old Trafford and the risk of them potentially missing out on the Champions League have made the Red Devils less attractive to Davies. At the same time, on the financial front, due to Manchester United's tight budget, Davies will be a high-income player even if he arrives as a free agent, and he asks for a weekly salary of more than £240,000, plus a £15 million signing fee, not counting agent commissions.

It is worth mentioning that when Davies left the Major League Soccer that year, Mourinho wanted Manchester United to sign him, but the club dragged his feet. His agent, Nick Josse, said: "When Jose Mourinho was in charge of Manchester United, he really wanted Alphonso [Davies], but Manchester United didn't do anything, they dragged on and on, and in the end I don't think they have the vision and conviction of Bayern."

According to The Athletic, Manchester United sources have admitted that Davies is not a priority for Sir Jim Ratcliffe's left-back. The Red Devils are in contact with other left-backs, with Paraguayan 17-year-old Diego León already in £5 million booked, as well as Álvaro Fernandez Carreras at Benfica, Anthony Robinson at Fulham, Rayan Ait-Noori from Wolves, Milos Kolquez at Bournemouth, Miguel Gutiérrez from Girona and Dolgu from Lecce.

Athletic reports that Liverpool have also expressed interest in signing Davies, with Anfield being the most likely destination if the Canadian full-back moves to the Premier League. However, the signing of Davies by Liverpool is also considered an unlikely outcome at the moment, with Liverpool's executives vehemently denying any interest. Other Premier League sides, such as London giants Arsenal and Chelsea, also focused on the left-back but made no move.

Bayern and Davies' agents have been in contact in recent months, with a video call this month. A number of sources with knowledge of the situation stressed that Bayern are very optimistic that Davies is likely to renew his contract. He has lived at the club and in Munich for almost 7 years, feels comfortable and is very popular in the dressing room.

At the recent FC Bayern Annual General Meeting, the club's president, Herbert Heiner, spoke about his desire to keep Davies and called him a decisive figure for Bayern along with the likes of Musiala. Davies will not renew his contract with Bayern Munich until January, and he has not set a deadline for his future, but sources believe more concrete things will happen before February.