One of the few benefits from the eery lockdown days of matches behind closed doors was the ability to eavesdrop on the running dialogue between top-level footballers.
At Bayern Munich, when Radio Thomas Muller had taken a brief moment to breathe, David Alaba offered one of the prevailing voices, with a steady stream of instructions for Alphonso Davies echoing around the empty Allianz Arena.
"He gives me a lot of information," Davies said at the time. "He makes sure I'm in the game. Communication's key and I'm happy he's constantly talking to me on the pitch."
That dialogue has continued even after Alaba moved to Real Madrid in 2021. Davies' agent Nedal Huoseh revealed earlier this season that the pair still "talk all the time".
"The conversations they have together in private, Davies doesn't share all the information with me about it, but I'm sure David would like to play with him again," Huoseh hinted.
With Davies' future at Bayern uncertain, Real Madrid have emerged as a prime contender to lure the fleet-footed full-back away from Bavaria. Here's why the Spanish giants are so keen on recreating the loquacious linkup between Alaba and Davies.
What Alphonso Davies can bring to Real Madrid
The unmissable quality that leaps out whenever Davies steps onto the pitch is the scorch marks he leaves while haring across the turf. Davies was christened 'FC Bayern's Roadrunner' by Muller after catching Erling Haaland, then of Borussia Dortmund, with a sprint that topped out at 35.3hm/hr (21.9mph).
Once again, no player in the Bundesliga has recorded a faster top speed than Davies this term (per the league's official website). Perhaps even more impressively, Davies has racked up the second-most sprints across the entire division, averaging more than 34 per 90 minutes.
This remarkable physicality is channelled towards moping up any loose ball on the left half of the pitch. Only one Bundesliga player has made more recoveries than Davies this season even though Bayern boast the highest possession figures of any club in the division - giving their players fewer opportunities to recover the ball from the opposition.
Davies' output is even more impressive when this context is added. For every 1,000 opposition touches, Davies makes 15 recoveries - the best ratio of any defender across Europe's top five leagues.
When Davies has successfully retrieved possession, he doesn't simply shovel it across to a more talented teammate. For all his speed, there is plenty of silk to Davies' game.
Much like Davies, Eduardo Camavinga was thrust into Real Madrid's left-back berth after Alaba pulled up injured. The France international had moonlighted in defence during the Qatar World Cup - finishing the final in that unfamiliar role - before Carlo Ancelotti was forced to replicate Didier Deschamps' reshuffle at Real Madrid in January.
Former Marseille manager Rolland Courbis scoffed at the time: "Camavinga left-back? Why not the physio?"
However, the elastic midfielder scarcely put a foot wrong when starting in the backline. In fact, he played a little too well.
When Real Madrid travelled to the home of La Liga leaders Girona and the reigning Serie A champions Napoli earlier this season, Camavinga started at left-back while Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia - the squad's two senior options in this position - watched on from the bench.
Garcia was brought back to the club he first joined as a teenager from Rayo Vallecano in the summer. With the veteran Marcelo heading back to Brazil, Madrid needed to bolster a position that was already a problem area given Mendy's recent battle with injuries.
While it is very early in his second spell at the club and there have been positive patches - Garcia has laid on more assists than Vinicius Junior this term - the 24-year-old has looked uneasy on multiple occasions. The derby away to Atletico Madrid in September - where few in white shone - was a particular lowlight.
There was always going to be a period of adjustment from the feverish pressing approach at Rayo to Real's radically different style, but few teams demand as much from their full-backs as this iteration of Ancelotti's side.
Since shifting to a diamond formation to accommodate the team's glut of midfielders, all of Real Madrid's width comes from their full-backs. Dani Carvajal, seven years Garcia's senior, has wholeheartedly embraced the added responsibility, popping up all over the right flank. Yet, where Garcia has struggled - and Mendy has barely featured - Davies could thrive.
The dextrous left-footer is familiar with the demands required at the sharp end of the pitch as a former right winger.
As he once said: "My mindset growing up was attack, attack, attack but now it's defend, defend, defend." If he were to move to Madrid, Ancelotti would demand more of the former - much to Davies' presumable delight.
Alphonso Davies career stats
Alphonso Davies to Real Madrid details
Always with an eye on the future, Madrid aren't targeting a move for Davies until next summer. By that point, the Canada international will only have one year left on a Bayern contract he has shown little eagerness to renew.
Madrid have Davies atop their list of reinforcements as reported by 90min in October. The capital club are thought to be willing to sell Mendy to carve open space in the roster for Bayern's full-back, leaving Davies to compete with Garcia while Camavinga's future lies in midfield.
Naturally for a player as undeniably talented as Davies, Madrid are not the only interest party. Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester City are also monitoring the situation, with Davies' outspoken agent keen to stress that his client's options are open.
"I am sure that Real Madrid can be one of the clubs that would like to sign Davies, along with several English Premier League clubs," Huoseh teased. "They all want to have one of the best left-backs in the world." Who wouldn't?
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This article was originally published on 90min as Why Real Madrid want to sign Alphonso Davies.
