Who is Omar Richards? Bayern set to sign Reading left-back

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Bayern Munich are set to announce the signing of Reading full-back Omar Richards on a Bosman transfer.

The Bavarians have been searching for a left-back who can serve as a back-up for Alphonso Davies next season.

And they have plumped for Richards, who will move to Munich this summer on a free transfer when his contract with the Championship side expires.

Bayern will lose David Alaba on a free transfer at the end of the campaign, with the Austrian star expected to join Real Madrid.

And the signing of Richards will raise new questions over the future of France defender Lucas Hernandez, who has struggled for form and fitness since joining from Atletico Madrid for €80 million in 2019.

Bayern have been busy constructing their squad for next season, also announcing on Sunday the signing of Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig on a five-year-contract.

Who is Omar Richards?

Richards is a 22-year-old left-back who plays for Reading in the Championship, the second tier of English football.

He came up through the Reading youth academy and made his debut for the club as a 19-year-old in 2017.

The full-back has since gone on to make 89 appearances for The Royals, scoring two goals.

He has also been capped once by the England Under-21 national team, playing as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Slovenia in 2019.

Richards began his career in a more advanced position, often as a winger, but was soon moved into his current left-back role.

Former Reading manager Jaap Stam described what kind of player Richards is: “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.”

Until this season, Richards was seen as someone who was better going forward than he was in defensive phases.

But he has improved considerably with his defensive numbers this campaign. According to Football Critic, he has won 73% of his tackles this season.

And he has an average rating of 6.8 for the season – only 0.1 lower than the highest-rated full-back in the Championship in 2020-21.

And now he is set to be the latest Englishman to ply his trade in the Bundesliga, with German clubs continuing to see England as one of the best producers of young talent today.