According to Sky Sport Deutschland, Manchester United remain in contention to sign Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard despite the fresh interest from Manchester City.
Pavard has already entered the final year of his Bayern contract, and it appears he could leave the club soon. Earlier today, respected journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that Manchester City have the Frenchman at the top of their shortlist for a new right-back, and they could try to sign him with Kyle Walker wanting to move to Bayern.
Sky Sport Deutschland have acknowledged the interest from Pep Guardiola’s team, but add that there are still no agreements in place. They mention that Man United and Juventus are two other top teams in the race to sign the £26 million star.
Quality player
Pavard has accumulated 162 appearances for Bayern since his switch from Stuttgart four years ago. The Frenchman has mostly played from the right-back role for the Munich giants, but he also has the ability to operate from central defence. His versatile quality would be a huge boost for any top European club.
United and Man City are both in the hunt for the once Lille graduate, but Pavard may personally feel that he could get more minutes with the latter. United presently have Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as their right-back choices while Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have cemented themselves as the first-choice centre-backs.
In comparison, Pavard could get more starts with Guardiola and City. The Premier League holders were highly successful with their 3-2-4-1 system in the second half of last season, and Pavard could excel from the right centre-back role. He considers himself more of a central defender, and would settle in seamlessly with the English champions.
Despite the links with United and Juventus, City are in the driving seat to sign Pavard due to Bayern’s apparent interest in Walker. Bayern could favour the deal as they could land Walker, and secure a transfer fee on top for Pavard’s move in the opposite direction.
