Manchester United were reportedly close to signing Bayern Munich star Benjamin Pavard this summer, but a deal didn’t materialise following Harry Maguire’s decision to stay at Old Trafford, as per the transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
Erik ten Hag seemingly left unimpressed by the former Leicester City star’s performance last term so the Dutch boss was open to cashing-in on him this summer and signing a new defender to bolster the backline.
Several names were mentioned as potential targets with Pavard emerging as the primary option. Speaking on The United Stand YouTube channel, Romano has reported that the Frenchman was keen on moving to Old Trafford and Man Utd almost agreed on personal terms with the player.
The journalist further claims that Man Utd were also in ‘advanced’ negotiations with Bayern and they were prepared to match the Bavarian club’s £26m asking price. However, in the end, the deal couldn’t be done as Maguire decided not to move away and Inter Milan eventually swooped in and signed the defender.
Romano said:
“Pavard wanted to come to Manchester United. The deal was almost done on the player’s side, and was advanced on club side. Manchester United were prepared to pay what Inter paid for Pavard, something in the region of 30-32 million Euros. So to put the money from Harry Maguire on Benjamin Pavard, they could change their defence, but the deal did not happen because of the Maguire situation.”
Pavard to Man Utd
West Ham expressed their interest in signing Maguire this summer and the Hammers even submitted a £30m bid to secure the Englishman’s signature.
The Red Devils reportedly accepted the proposal and were planning to sign Pavard with that money to strengthen the backline. However, Maguire wasn’t keen on joining West Ham so United couldn’t offload the Englishman as a result, they couldn’t generate the necessary fee to broker a deal for the 27-year-old.
Pavard is a versatile player as he can play as the right-back but can also be deployed in the centre-back role. He is quick, good in the air, comfortable playing out from the back and also can chip in with some important goals.
So, the World Cup winner would have been a great coup for Man Utd had they managed to secure his signature. However, United will now have to continue with Maguire until January at least.
