Man Utd reach ‘agreement in principle’ for Harry Maguire replacement; first offer ‘rejected’ by European giants
Man Utd linked Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard
Manchester United are reportedly still pushing to sign Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard despite the Bundesliga club rejecting their opening offer.
Personal terms will not be a problem, with the France international very keen on joining the Red Devils this summer.
Pavard has just one year remaining on his current contract with Bayern Munich, but they still won’t let the defender leave on the cheap.
The 27-year-old has the ability to play as a centre-back or as a right-back. He could therefore prove to be a valuable player for Erik ten Hag.
Harry Maguire has been linked with a departure from Old Trafford all summer, so Pavard could be an excellent replacement for him.
Ten Hag also seems keen to bring in a new right-back, as he wants someone to provide competition for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot.
Now, it seems the manager could kill two birds with one stone if Man Utd can finalise a deal for Pavard in the next few weeks.
Man Utd have ‘agreement in principle’ with Pavard
According to reputed transfer journalist Florian Plettenberg, Man Utd have already reached an ‘agreement in principle’ on personal terms with Pavard.
On Twitter, Plettenberg wrote: “Man Utd is pushing for Benjamin Pavard and has submitted a first official offer to Bayern – confirmed.
“The offer was rejected but Pavard is still very open to joining Man Utd as there’s a verbal agreement in principle.”
It isn’t clear how much Man Utd put on the table for Pavard with their first offer. Previous reports suggest, however, that a bid of just £26m could be enough to secure his services. That is because his contract is running down.
Since joining Bayern in 2019, Pavard has made 163 appearances across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and making 12 assists in the process.
A proven winner, the defender has helped his team to win four Bundesliga titles, as well as the Champions League in 2020. He also scored the winning goal in the 2018 World Cup final for France.
With that in mind, he could be exactly the kind of player Ten Hag needs to turn Man Utd into Premier League title challengers again.
It will be interesting to see if the Red Devils increase their offer for the Frenchman in the next couple of weeks.
