Manchester United have set their sights on Alphonso Davies – and could sign him on a pre-contract deal in 10 weeks – but fear they will be overtaken by a big European club with Bayern Munich flying at the full-back position.

According to reports in Germany, Manchester United have a specific interest in Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and have already made an “informal request” to sign him.

Davies, 23, looks set to leave Bayern on a free transfer next summer as his Allianz Arena contract expires – barring a shock late reversal.

And United could be the club to take advantage, with the Canadian on their radar to become their first-choice left-back, according to Sky Germany.

The left side of United’s defense has been a problem for Erik ten Hag, with Luke Shaw suffering from recurring injuries and the versatile Diogo Dalot having to cover both sides of the backline, with Tyrell Malasia out for long periods.

Davies will be allowed to sign a pre-contract with a club outside Germany as early as January – in just 10 weeks – but United is not the only option.

Real Madrid are believed to be leading the race to sign the upcoming free agent and are long-term admirers of his speed and attacking threat on the left flank.

Real Madrid signed Kylian Mbappe as a free agent last summer and are believed to be interested in making another blockbuster free transfer to bolster their defence.

But the transfer is yet to be decided – as another suitor told Barcelona earlier this month – leaving the door open for a potential United attack.

Ten Hag has been vocal about his frustrations with player availability in recent times, with left-back being a key area where difficulties have been identified.

“It’s holding us back at our level and also our position in the league because when you don’t have players available you can’t put together the best team,” Ten Hag said this week.

“This is what is holding us back at the moment. We need more available players and we have to work on this issue together – the players, the coaching staff, the rest of the staff.

“We need to try harder to get more players available because we know when we have them we have a really tough team to deal with.”

“And when we have them, we can be really successful. That’s what we’ve shown over the last couple of months.”

United sit 12th in the Premier League and are yet to win the Europa League, jeopardizing their chances of qualifying for the Champions League, which would be key for a player of Davis’ caliber.