Manchester United favourites to sign Bayern Munich defender
Bayern Munich has been waiting the whole summer to hear concrete offers for Benjamin Pvard. They may finally receive one in the coming days. According to a report by Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Manchester United are currently leading the race to sign Bayern defender.
The versatile defender is looking to take on a new challenge and can see himself playing at Old Trafford in the Premier League, despite Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel’s desire to keep him in Munich.
Manchester United have been active in the transfer market this summer signing Inter Milan keeper Andre Onana and Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount and Atalanta striker Rasmus Højlund, now they’re looking to add a defender to the ranks after agreeing a fee with West Ham United to sell Harry Maguire.
Pavard is keen to explore his options and leave Bayern this summer
At the end of July L’Equipe reported that Pavard was looking to leave Munich this summer, stating that the defender had no intention of renewing his contract which expires next summer. With the danger of losing him for nothing and the desire of the player to move to new pastures, Bayern may be forced to accept the approach from United, albeit reluctantly.
The former Stuttgart man joined Bayern back in 2019 and has gone on to make over 150 appearances. The French international has largely played in the right-back position during the last four seasons in Munich. Pavard prefers playing in central defense, so a move to Manchester United may make sense for him as the talk in England is that he’s seen as the replacement for Harry Maguire.
The 27-year-old defender has spent much of his career in Germany having joined Stuttgart from Lille back in 2016, and quickly became one of the Bundesliga’s best defenders, attracting the attention of Bayern Munich.
Pavard’s time in Munich has coincided with a run of outstanding form for the current German champions, in total he’s picked up 10 trophies over the last four years including the 2019/2020 Champions League, and the Fifa Club World Cup trophy in 2021.
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Pavard is seen as an important member of Tuchel’s squad, which is why the German is so keen to hold onto him, but sometimes keeping players who don’t want to be here does more harm than good.
If Pavard were to move on, Bayern would have plenty of cover in defense, especially in the middle with Matthijs de Ligt, Dayot Upamecano, and newly signed South Korean Kim Min-jae.
According to Plettenberg, the fee is believed to be around €30 million, and if Bayern can use that to bridge the gap in the Harry Kane negotiations, it’s a deal worth making. As of today, there is no reported bid, but this is one to keep an eye on.