Summary Man United are in contact over a new defensive signing to bolster their ranks. The player is highly-rated and versatile. He's worth a small fee in comparison to Harry Maguire.
Manchester United are still active in the transfer market with only a few weeks left to secure new signings and now a fresh update has emerged from a reliable source on a potential target.
Who are Man United trying to sign?
According to Italian journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Man United have "contacted" Bayern Munich regarding their interest in singing one of their players.
Romano revealed on Twitter this weekend:
"Understand Manchester United have contacted Bayern for Benjamin Pavard deal.
"There’s still no green light from Bayern. But Pavard intention is clear: he wants to leave and try new chapter.
"Pavard won’t sign new deal at Bayern and current one expires in June 2024."
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The journalist then followed up his tweet on Sunday morning revealing:
"Bayern rejected United's first approach for Benjamin Pavard…but Man United remain there as Benji Pavard wants the move. He won’t sign new deal at Bayern and insists to leave."
How good is Benjamin Pavard?
Erik ten Hag is clearly still keen to bolster his defensive presence after securing a deal for new goalkeeper Andre Onana already and with £80m Harry Maguire's future hanging in the balance it could become a necessity to add depth in the remaining weeks of the window.
West Ham United are keen to sign the former Red Devils captain this summer and have already agreed a £30m deal, however, the Hammers are still working on convincing Maguire to make the move to East London.
As a result, the signing of Pavard – who has a reported £30m price tag himself – would be a great piece of business for Ten Hag as the Bayern defender has the quality to provide strong competition and rotation in Man United's back-line, as well as being the perfect profile of player to become the Dutch coach's next Jurrien Timber.
The talented Frenchman is one of the most highly-rated ball-playing defenders across the top five European leagues – ranking in the top 8% of his positional peers for non-penalty goals, shots in total, shot-creating actions, progressive passes, progressive carries, touches and tackles per 90 minutes played, as per FBref.
When comparing Pavard's output to Timber's last season, the Bundesliga titan came close to Ten Hag's former Ajax talisman in a number of key attributes, including pass completion (88.3% v 91.6%), shot-creating actions per 90 (1.67 v 1.72), percentage of dribblers tackled (75% v 74.1%) and comfortably outperformed him in aerial duels won (66% v 47.4%).
It's not just their qualities in possession that stand out, with both possessing the luxury of versatility. Indeed, while Pavard can play at right-back and centre-back, Timber was and still is a player who possesses the tools to occupy the same positions on the pitch.
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has waxed lyrical about Pavard's defensive strengths and that famed versatility in the past, with the France international capable of adapting his positioning to many roles on the pitch:
"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."
Not only that, the 27-year-old possesses a strong winning mentality that would be a major asset to Man United in their pursuit to reignite their previous dominance and trophy success, with Pavard collecting a World Cup with France, four Bundesliga titles, one Champions League trophy and two German Super Cups over his career so far.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Man United to secure the services of Timber this summer as he fits the exact profile of defender that Ten Hag desires and would suit the style of play at Old Trafford perfectly. Timber 2.0 anyone?