Man City and Bayern Munich set for SENSATIONAL swap – Romano

Tom Hancock

• 15 Jul 2023 15:36 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester City could replace Kyle Walker with Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard if the right-back joins the German giants this summer.

Walker has reportedly agreed terms with Bayern, having seen his involvement at City reduced since Pep Guardiola’s switch to a three-man set-up at the back.

But it doesn’t seem like Guardiola will be happy to go without an elite right-sided defensive option in his squad next season.

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Fabrizio Romano reports that the reigning Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup winners have made Pavard, 27, their number one right-back priority in the event that Walker does depart.

Whether Man City and Bayern would look to strike a direct swap deal for the two players is unclear, but Pavard and Walker currently sit relatively close to one another in terms of Estimated Transfer Value (ETV): €24.6m and €17.3m respectively.

France international Pavard – who scored arguably the goal of the tournament as Les Bleus won the 2018 World Cup in Russia – joined Bayern from Stuttgart in 2019 and is now into the final 12 months of his contract at the Allianz Arena.

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Bayern and Pavard to part ways?

As such, this summer could be the Bundesliga giants’ last chance to offload the versatile defender – who can also operate at centre-back – for a fee (or, as might be the case, money towards a deal for Walker).

Pavard has made 162 appearances for Bayern, helping them to the four most recent of their 11 straight German titles – as well as Champions League glory in 2019/20.

He’s won 49 caps for France, with whom he also reached the final of the 2022 World Cup – where Les Bleus finished as runners-up to Argentina in Qatar.