The Red Devils had the chance to snap up a highly-rated Canadian, but they took too long to make a decision and the Bundesliga giants swept in
Jose Mourinho wanted Alphonso Davies at Manchester United, admits the teenager’s former Edmonton Strikers coach Nick Huoseh, but the Red Devils dithered on a deal and Bayern Munich swept in.
The Red Devils had been monitoring a highly-rated Canada international for several years prior to a high-profile move to Europe being made.
Their scouting network had called for a deal to be done, with Davies’ potential not expected to sail under the radar for long.
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During his time at Old Trafford, Mourinho was eager to see United put a deal in place with MLS side the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Premier League giants were, however, to pay the price for spending too long mulling over their options.
Huoseh told Sky Sports: “When Jose Mourinho was there, he really wanted him but it never happened.
“They waited and waited, and at the end I don’t think they had the same vision and belief as Munich.”
Huoseh acted as a representative for Davies when he was making a name for himself in Canada and welcomed interest from Bayern once it became apparent that the Bundesliga giants were serious about adding the versatile left-sided operator to their ranks.
“I met with one or two other clubs, but speaking with the Bayern guys and seeing their plan I thought it was the best place for Alphonso,” Huoseh added.
“Honestly, I was being offered things that guys might jump on but Bayern had a small squad, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben were retiring, and it was just a good fit.
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“One of the English clubs, I asked about their plan for Alphonso, and they said they might put him with the second team, or send him on loan because they weren’t sure if he would get a work permit.
“But with Bayern, it wasn’t just a phone call. It was a PowerPoint presentation, put together by [chief scout] Marco Neppe and [sporting director] Hasan Salihamidzic.
“They showed his position on the field, where he was going to play, they showed how they had 19 players in their squad, play 50 something games a year, play a lot of matches a year and the average player plays 80 per cent of the matches.”
