Summary Manchester United are expected to make a move for Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard as a replacement for Harry Maguire. Pavard, who can play as a right-back or centre-back, has expressed his desire to move to United and negotiations are currently ongoing. At 27 years old, Pavard is approaching the peak of his career and has been a consistent performer for Bayern, with impressive stats and underlying numbers.
Manchester United are expected to "make a move" for Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard to replace Harry Maguire, with some reporting that negotiations are already "ongoing", per Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
Is Benjamin Pavard joining Manchester United?
It has been a brilliant transfer window for the Red Devils so far this summer, with the team looking substantially more competitive now compared to just a month ago.
The first big name through the door at Old Trafford was Mason Mount, who left Chelsea in a £55m deal to join Erik ten Hag's project in Manchester.
Not long after that, Cameroon international Andre Onana joined the club from Inter Milan for £47m, and he was closely followed by the exciting Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund for around £72m from Serie A side Atalanta.
Read the latest Manchester United transfer news HERE…
With the arrival of three new first-teamers, there was an expectation that some players would now be on the way out of the Theatre of Dreams, notably former captain Maguire.
The England international has had a rough couple of years at United, and a move away could be what's best for all parties and, according to Sky Sports, that could be precisely what's happening, as they have reported that West Ham United have agreed a 'deal in principle' to sign the former Foxes star for 'around £30m.'
With the 30-year-old now likely to leave, the club have turned their attention to his potential replacement, Bayern star Pavard with negotiations already "ongoing", per Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
He explained the situation on Sky Sports News (via Football Daily), saying:
"Sources in Germany are expecting Manchester United to make a move for Benjamin Pavard if Harry Maguire leaves United. Now Bayern Munich have known for a long time that Pavard wants to leave and one source has told us that the player wants to move to United and also that negotiations are ongoing at the moment.
"Now he's a right-back who also plays as a centre-back he would cost, we're being told, around €30-35m, so probably around £30m."
How old is Benjamin Pavard?
Born March 28th 1996, in the French Commune of Maubeuge, Pavard is 27-years-old and, according to The Athletic, approaching the peak period of his career, and so could represent a savvy signing on the part of United.
He has been an incredibly consistent performer for the Bavarians since moving to the south of Germany from Stuttgart in January of 2019 – just six months after helping France win the World Cup.
In the four full seasons he has spent in Munich, he has never dipped below an average rating of 6.87 and ended last year with a seriously impressive average match rating of 7.17, per WhoScored.
In his 30 Bundesliga appearances last season, he scored four goals, provided one assist, maintained a passing accuracy of 89.9% and picked up two Man-of-the-Match awards along the way, also per WhoScored.
His underlying numbers are also outstanding and sure to reassure some that he could reproduce his performances in the Premier League should he make the switch.
According to FBref, which compares players across Europe's top five leagues, the £82,000-a-week star sits in the top 1% for attempted passes and progressive passes, the top 2% for total shots, expected assists and progressive passes received, the top 3% for non-penalty goals and shot-creating actions, and the top 4% for touches in the oppositions penalty area and non-penalty expected goals, all per 90.
Despite Bayern's apparent willingness to part ways with the Frenchman, he obviously made an impact on Thomas Tuchel, as the German heaped praise on his player earlier this season (via Get French Football News), saying:
"He is an underrated player. He can adapt to the highest level and he defends rigorously.
"He is a top team player, he immediately had my confidence and proved to me that I had been right."
If United can get this deal over the line, then ten Hag will have another incredibly talented footballer at his disposal over the coming years.
