Erik ten Hag isn’t short of options at right-back with Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at his disposal, but Scott Saunders and Graeme Bailey of 90min say Manchester United could be signing Benjamin Pavard.
The 27-year-old could be on his way out of Bayern Munich this summer and won’t be short of options – Manchester City, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona are among the interested clubs.
Pavard wants out of Bayern despite title triumph
Pavard joined Bayern from VfB Stuttgart in 2019 and has gone on to make 162 appearances in all competitions, scoring 12 goals with 12 assists. The French international, who has represented his country on 47 occasions, is out of contract in 2024 and intimated he wants to leave.
He scored seven goals with one assist from 43 games this season as Bayern won the title on the final day, but Saunders and Bailey’s report states that Pavard wants a new challenge in England, Italy or Spain, so United aren’t wasting time trying to procure his signature – the Red Devils are already in talks with the defender’s representatives over a potential deal.
No player has more interceptions than Dalot (1.4 per game) in the league while only Casemiro averaged more tackles than the Portuguese international (2.1 per game), so he’s been a great option for Ten Hag. And only Dalot has more interceptions than Wan-Bissaka (1.2 per game) while only Casemiro has more tackles (2.1 per game), so both right-backs have been effective for United.
That being said, Pavard boasts more tackles (2.3) and interceptions (1.5) per league game than Dalot and Wan-Bissaka this season, so it’s easy to see why Ten Hag would be keen. And with the 27-year-old having an asking price of €30m (£26m), he could be a bargain acquisition this summer.
Time will tell whether Pavard wants to leave the perennial Bundesliga champions for a United side that aren’t close to winning a domestic title in England, however, but there have been discussions and his reported £116k-per-week salary won’t be a problem.
