Alphonso Davies has enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2019/2020 campaign. Ever since Hansi Flick stepped in to take charge after Niko Kovac was dismissed, Davies has experienced a resurgence of sorts in his new-found left back role. Of course, Davies had been used as a left back by Kovac before, but under Flick, he’s been the first choice at that spot and has done exceptionally well for himself. So far this season, he’s made a total of 17 appearances across all competitions, the majority of which have been starts especially after Kovac was gone. He’s also added a goal and 4 assists, one of which came after his lung-bursting run to tee up Robert Lewandowski against SC Freiburg.

In case you missed it, this is how @AlphonsoDavies set up @lewy_official on Wednesday night ️ pic.twitter.com/FSYoGv7bHj — Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) December 23, 2019

While he’s proven himself to be a more than capable left back, in a recent interview with Canadian outlet Edmonton Sun (via Bundesliga.com), the 19-year old described adapting to life as a fullback at Bayern and said he hopes to play a more advanced role at some pint:

It’s different. My mindset growing up was attack, attack, attack, but now it’s defend, defend, defend. It’s different because now when I want to go forward, I have to be aware of the guys behind me. If I get caught with a long ball, I could be in big trouble. I’m playing the game as a defender right now, and hopefully one day they put me up top. But I’m happy to play whatever position the coach puts me.

Hansi Flick described Davies’s continued development as “monumental” and sporting director Hasan Salihamidizc, who was the chief architect to getting Davies to join Bayern, has also been equally as impressed with Canadian’s rapid growth as a player. Working with such experienced players, Davies said, has helped him develop so quickly and get to where he’s at now:

Things are going well, I’m playing a few more games now and getting some minutes with the team and training has been going well. I’m trying to stay as healthy as possible. You learn a lot from those guys. Some of those guys are World Cup winners, some guys are Champions League winners and as a kid from Edmonton, I’m just trying to soak up as much information as possible.

It remains to be seen what will happen with Davies’s positioning and minutes when both Lucas Hernandez and Niklas Sule return from their injury layovers. Flick will have more options in defense when both of them return to full fitness, which could see Davies pushed up to the midfield in a wide attacking role. For the time being, though, he’s proven himself to be a reliable stalwart in defense and Bayern will be looking to hit the ground running when the ruckrunde starts in mid January, whether he’s the starting left back or not.