Omar Richards: Who is Bayern Munich's outgoing left-back?
Bayern Munich have confirmed that 24-year-old England youth international Omar Richards will leave the club for Nottingham Forest this summer.
bundesliga.com has everything you need to know about the latest young Englishman swapping Blighty for the German top flight…
Omar Richards
Age: 24
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Left-back
Country: England (1 U21 cap)
Key stats
Born in the South London Borough of Lewisham on 15 February 1998, Richards crossed ever so slightly north of the river to join English Premier League side Fulham's academy as a youngster before being released by the club at 16 in 2016. Shortly after, he moved an hour west along the UK's M4 to join Reading, where he signed his first professional terms in July that same year, having impressed in both the club's U18 and U21 sides.
By the start of Reading's 2017/18 Championship campaign, Richards was in the first-team reckoning and made his professional league debut as a substitute in their 2-0 opening day defeat to Queen's Park Rangers on 5 August 2017. His full debut followed in October, as did Richards' maiden professional goal in February - finding the back of the net just five days after turning 20 in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. His second senior goal two weeks later made it two in three games.
The 2019/20 season saw Richards establish himself as a regular at Reading, whether donning duties at left-back or left midfield and, by August 2019, he received a first international call-up when selected for England U21 duty. Richards made his England U21 debut in the 2-2 draw with Slovenia a month later and went on to make 28 first-team appearances for Reading that term. He left the club after five years and over 100 games for the Berkshire outfit to join Bayern in the summer of 2021. Richards made his debut for the record Bundesliga champions in the 12-0 win over Bremer SV in the first round of the DFB Cup, and laid on Leroy Sane for his new team's eighth goal. The Englishman went on to feature in 12 Bundesliga matches and four UEFA Champions League fixtures in 2021/22 as Bayern lifted the Meisterschale. He departed the club in July 2022 after just one season at the Allianz Arena.
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Plays a bit like: Alphonso Davies
It's clear to see why Bayern turned to Richards as cover and competition for Davies at left-back. Physically, Richards' 5'7" frame quite literally doesn't stand up to the 6'0" Davies, but he does centre his game on relentless work rate, enviable athleticism, pace and dribbling - as does Davies. Like his former teammate, he's also more than capable of plying his trade further forward as a winger. With that said, and although the similarities are evident, Richards clearly still has some way to go in catching up with the development of one of the Bundesliga's fastest players on record and he ultimately leaves Bayern without dislodging the Canadian.
Watch: Alphonso Davies, Bayern's two-world superstar
Did you know?
Two of Richards' compatriots have represented Bayern previously in the Bundesliga, although both Owen Hargreaves (42 England caps) and Jamal Musiala (2 England U21 caps) were born in Calgary and Stuttgart respectively. Kaarst-born Bright Arrey-Mbi - who has already featured in the UEFA Champions League but not yet the domestic league for Bayern - also represented England at youth international level, having moved there at a young age, while Mark Hughes (Wales) and Alan McInally (Scotland) are the other Brits to have played in the German top-flight for the record champions.
What they're saying
"Omar is a left-back with a lot of quality on the ball, pace and real drive going forward – and those are attributes which every team in football is looking for in a player." - Former Reading coach and ex-Netherlands international Jaap Stam
"It tells you about how great Omar has been so far. I'm so happy for him that a great team is linked and have seen his great potential and performances so far." - Fellow former Reading coach Veljko Paunovic
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