Man Utd try to STEAL top transfer target away from Man City
Tom Hancock
- Updated: 28 Jul 2023 21:43 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United have emerged as contenders to sign Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard, a target for Manchester City.
The versatile Frenchman has entered the final 12 months of his contract with the Bundesliga champions and is said to be keen to move on, citing a preference to play at centre-back rather than right-back.
And it seems that Man Utd could be an option for the 27-year-old, who joined Bayern from Stuttgart in 2019.
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According to Sport1, United and Juventus have joined Man City in monitoring Pavard’s situation ahead of a possible swoop for the 2018 World Cup winner.
All three clubs are reported to have been in touch with the former Lille youngster’s camp as they look to revamp their respective squads this summer.
Neither Man Utd, Juve or City have added a defender to their ranks so far – and there aren’t likely to be many better than Pavard available in the current transfer window.
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Does Pavard present a more affordable option for both Manchester clubs?
Man City remain strongly linked with RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol – but it looks like it will take a world-record fee for a defender of around €100m (£86m) to bring the Croatia star to the Etihad Stadium and, for the immense wealth at their disposal, the Premier League champions have historically held firm in their own valuations of transfer targets.
Will City go for Pavard instead, then? Well, Bayern may accept as little as €30m (£25.7m) – which ought to make him an enticing option to United and numerous other top clubs across Europe.
In his four seasons at Bayern, Pavard has made 162 appearances in all competitions – helping his side to the most recent four of their 11 straight German titles, as well as Champions League glory in 2019/20.
