Man Utd MISS OUT on number one defensive target

Carlo Garganese

20 Aug 2023 17:48 BST
3 min read

Erik ten Hag and the Manchester United badge, on a background of a panorama of Old Trafford in red — © ProShots

Manchester United are set to miss out on their top defensive target as Inter Milan have agreed a deal with Bayern Munich for Benjamin Pavard.

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That is according to transfer intermediary Giovanni Branchini, who claims that Inter and Bayern have agreed on a transfer fee.

All that is required to complete the deal now is for Bayern to find a replacement defender for Pavard.

What did Branchini say?

“Pavard is very close to Inter,” Branchini told Radio Sportiva.

“At this point, all that we need is for Bayern to find not a replacement, but someone who can challenge Mazraoui as right-back. In that case, the operation with the Nerazzurri will be completed by the end of the transfer window.

“I think as of today there is no more distance between the clubs, we are just waiting for that solution to be found.”

According to the Italian media, Inter and Bayern have agreed an initial fee of €25 million plus €5m in add-ons.

© ProShots - Man Utd are set to miss out on Pavard

This comes as a blow to Man Utd, who had made Pavard their number one defensive target before the end of the transfer window.

It had appeared as if Pavard would join Man Utd, with the France star keen to move to Old Trafford.

However, United were unable to close the deal until Harry Maguire was offloaded.

And when Maguire rejected a transfer to West Ham, the deal for Pavard fell through also.

Pavard had made it clear he is desperate to quit Bayern this summer as he won’t be renewing his contract that expires in 2024.

This has allowed Inter to agree a fee for a much reduced price.

Pavard will be the replacement for Milan Skriniar, who left Inter this summer on a free transfer to join PSG.

The Frenchman can play as a centre back or as a right back but prefers to play in the middle. He will occupy the right centre-back position in manager Simone Inzaghi’s 3-5-2.