Chelsea and Manchester United are among clubs that are interested in signing Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard, according to L’Equipe.
The Frenchman has been with Bayern since 2019, but he is considering his future as he would prefer to play as a central defender rather than a right-back.
L’Equipe report that Chelsea and United are among clubs that have the player in their recruitment list, but Bayern are yet to receive any transfer offer.
The Bundesliga holders are willing to part ways with Pavard if they receive around €35 million (£30m).
Our view:
Pavard has made 119 appearances for Bayern and out of those, just 22 outings have come from central defence.
Bayern currently have four other central defenders in Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Hernandez, Tanguy Nianzou and Matthijs de Ligt, who recently arrived from Juventus.
De Ligt’s arrival may have triggered Pavard’s decision to move on. Out of Chelsea and United, the former would probably be the most likely destination for him.
Chelsea have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly to bolster their central defence while talks are underway with Sevilla to sign long-term target Jules Kounde.
However, the Blues are said to be eyeing three top centre-backs. With the lack of progress in negotiations for Presnel Kimpembe, they could turn to Pavard.
United, on the other hand, seem unlikely to enter the pursuit, having recently signed Lisandro Martinez.
While Chelsea tend to play with a back three, United have barely switched from a traditional back four, and they are currently loaded with centre-back options.
Aside from Martinez, they have Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones as well as Axel Tuanzebe. A couple of them could be sold.
Even then, Pavard would not have any assurance of regular minutes. If United were to make a possible move, Pavard may himself turn down their advances.
