Swansea City will curse the issue that saw bargain deal for Bayern Munich star fall through: View | OneFootball

Swansea City could have signed Alphonso Davies in 2017 had it not been for work permit issues

Highlights

Canadian international Alphonso Davies is a household name in world football thanks to spending the last five years at Bayern Munich, one of the most recognised and well-known clubs in the world.

However, in a parallel universe, the Canadian left-sided player could have been a Swansea City player back in 2017, thanks to a tip from then Vancouver Whitecaps boss Carl Robinson, who alerted the Swans to his talent.

As we all know, Davies is now an elite footballer on both the international stage with Canada and on the club stage with Bayern Munich, while Swansea are a mid-table Championship club scrapping it out in the second tier of English football.

Davies and Swansea may now seem a million miles away from each other, but things could have been all so different.

Back in 2017, a then Premier League Swansea side were looking to bolster their squad when Welshman Carl Jones, who was coaching the Vancover Whitecaps at the time, tipped his compatriots at Swansea that he had a talented player in Davies, and he was being offered around by agent David Baldwin.

The Daily Mail reported that Swansea saw Davies as a superb investment and as someone who would have suited their style while playing top-flight football.

However, any potential deal to bring the Canadian international to SA1 was shattered due to work permit regulations.

As is standard procedure when any club signs a player from abroad, the player must obtain a work permit to play football in the United Kingdom. The UK home office has a points-based system based on which clubs must apply for a permit, but Davies did not reach the threshold required to obtain a permit.

Davies was born in Ghana to Liberian parents, and moved to Canada when he was a five-year-old, and despite being capped by Canada at 16, and being singled out as a leading player of his age-group, Swansea were unsuccessful in their work permit application.

Canada's low FIFA ranking, coupled with the £3million transfer fee and low wages meant that clubs in the UK were unable to convince the home office to change their decision, and Davies remained with Vancouver Whitecaps before being snapped-up by Bayern in January 2019.

What was an inconvenience at the time for Swansea, but probably didn't seem like the end of the world has transpired to be a huge miss, and the Swans will be cursing Davies' inability to secure a work permit every time they see him play.

Since joining Bayern Munich five-and-a-half years ago, Davies has become a key player for the German giants, and has made nearly 200 appearances for them in total.

The 23-year-old made 42 appearances for Bayern during the 2023/24 season, scoring three times and registering six assists in what was a disappointing season for the Bavarian side as they missed out on winning any silverware.

Swansea can only watch on and think what could have been every time they see Davies performing at the top level of European football, and had it not been for work permit issues, he could well have been a Swansea City player during the 2017/18 season and may have helped them avoid relegation.

Davies is out of contract next season, and there have been rumours about whether he'll remain at the Allianz Arena. If the Canadian is on the move in the near future, it's safe to assume that Swansea won't be in contention for his signature this time around.