Manchester United are one of the teams currently in the running to sign Benjamin Pavard, according to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Who are Manchester United signing this summer?
The Red Devils have booked themselves a spot in the Champions League in Erik Ten Hag’s first campaign at the helm and will want to recruit wisely during the summer transfer window to ensure they can compete on all fronts. The Dutchman dragged his side back into the top four, with 23 wins in the Premier League, and already has a solid win-rate of 68% at Old Trafford – which is the second-best of his career.
The boss has already identified the need for his team to bring in a new striker and some midfield depth but it appears that he may also be keen to bring in some defensive reinforcements too. Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly and Alex Telles could all be leaving the club when the window opens and Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe have both not extended their deals with the side and are set to leave on free transfers.
It means that there is room at the back for United – and that could lead to them bringing in Pavard. According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, the versatile player is available for a deal and there are a whole host of clubs chasing his signature.
Bayern are prepared to accept bids of 30 to 40 million Euros (which is around £25 – £34m) and it means that he could be available in a modest deal too. The Red Devils are named as one of the sides that are “in” for the player but their rivals Man City are also reportedly in the hunt and so are Barcelona and Real Madrid: “Update Pavard: As reported and now confirmed: He will be allowed to leave Bayern immediately. Bayern demands a transfer fee of €30-40m.
“Real, Barcelona, ManCity, ManUtd and more clubs are in”
How good is Benjamin Pavard?
It is a surprise to see Pavard available on a deal this summer from Bayern considering how he has fared in the Bundesliga this campaign.
With a WhoScored rating of 7.17, the defender actually ranks as the sixth best player in the German giants’ squad over the course of the season. That puts him above the talented – and highly regarded – Alphonso Davies, and also the likes of Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry too.
What’s more is that defensively he has excelled too. His rate of 2.3 tackles per game on average is the second-best rate in the squad and his 1.5 interceptions per fixture is actually better than any other player at Bayern. He is still ranking highly both in terms of his all-round game and his defensive capabilities then – meaning it is certainly a shock that the Germans are so eager to sell him.
Pavard is also full of confidence, having previously stated that whilst people feel Trent Alexander-Arnold and Achraf Hakimi are more “sexy,” he is the best because is a better defender than them. He said: “A defender must first defend well. On paper, Pavard may be less sexy than Hakimi, Arnold, but I find that defensively I am more complete.”
If United do sign him then, they’ll be getting a player that is capable of producing the goods at the highest level, which would instantly strengthen their backline.
