Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Man Utd set for transfer battle with Chelsea as Benjamin Pavard emerges on Blues wish list

Benjamin Pavard of Bayern Munich

Manchester United will have to fend off Chelsea if they want to sign Benjamin Pavard as a journalist has confirmed the Blues’ interest in him.

Pavard came through Lille’s academy and went on to make 25 senior outings for the French club. He left Ligue 1 in August 2016 when Stuttgart paid Lille £4.5million for his services.

The defender spent three years at Stuttgart, helping them return to the German top flight and finish seventh in the Bundesliga in 2017/18.

However, Stuttgart were relegated the following season and this allowed Bayern Munich to sign Pavard.

Stuttgart made a good profit on the Frenchman, selling him for £31.5m.

Pavard has gone on to become an important player for Bayern, operating either as a right-back or centre-half.

During his three years at the Allianz Arena, Bayern have won all of the Bundesliga titles available to them, in addition to one Champions League and one German cup.

Pavard made his France debut during his time at Stuttgart. Since moving to Bayern he has become a regular for Les Blues, winning 45 caps so far.

Benjamin Pavard lined up for Prem move

Julian Nagelsmann is making changes to the Bayern squad. This has seen them bring in Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui to bolster the defence.

While Pavard should still feature regularly in Bavaria, these signings are giving other teams hope of capturing the 26-year-old.

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Manchester United are hopeful of taking him to the Theatre of Dreams.

They have already brought in Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez this summer, but seemingly want Pavard to improve Erik ten Hag’s defence even further.

However, United will face competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea. L’Equipe claimed the Blues to be looking at Pavard as a potential new addition, and Bild reporter Christian Falk has confirmed this suggestion.

The Blues have been left reeling by Jules Kounde’s snub and subsequent move to Barcelona.

Chelsea’s three man wish list at centre-back is now Leicester’s Wesley Fofana, Presnel Kimpembe of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern star Pavard.

Man United set their sights on Benjamin Pavard

Man United set their sights on Benjamin Pavard

Manchester United have turned their attention to Bayern Munich star Benjamin Pavard, who has also been linked with Chelsea.

Fofana will cost an eye-watering £70m, while Kimpembe is hopeful of staying at PSG. This means Chelsea could end up launching a move for Pavard.

The player’s Bayern contract runs for another two years, which means the German club can command a big fee.

Chelsea were willing to spend £55m on Kounde and will probably have to part with this kind of sum to land Pavard.

Thomas Tuchel’s side joining the race for the Frenchman puts a move to United under serious threat. The Red Devils will not want to get into a bidding war. They need to save money if they are to match Ajax’s huge asking price for Antony.

Chelsea lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen at the start of the summer. As such, they have a real need to bring in someone like Pavard.

Therefore, the Blues are more likely than United to send Bayern an offer for him.

Meanwhile, United director of football John Murtough has met with a striker’s agent to discuss a move to Old Trafford.