Liverpool frozen out as Man Utd, Man City battle for Bayern ace who will leave for tempting fee

Reports out of Germany have confirmed a Bayern Munich star can leave ‘immediately’, and while Liverpool have seemingly been overlooked, Man Utd and Man City are confirmed to be in the hunt.

French outlet L’Equipe recently claimed Man Utd have installed Bayern Munich and France star, Benjamin Pavard, at the top of their defensive wishlist.

Fabrizio Romano put forward a different view on Wednesday, claiming Napoli’s Kim Min-jae is in fact United’s “main” defensive target.

However, according to two outlets in Germany, Pavard may wind up being the player destined for Old Trafford.

Firstly, BILD reported the 27-year-old has been granted permission to leave ‘immediately’. L’Equipe claimed Pavard has no intention of penning fresh terms in Bavaria and as such, Bayern will sanction a sale while they still can.

Pavard’s current contract expires at the end of next season, meaning a summer sale in the upcoming window has taken on greater significance.

German publication Kicker claimed Liverpool had lodged an enquiry into the signing of Pavard. While midfield additions will grab the headlines on Merseyside this summer, Jurgen Klopp also wants a fresh injection at the back.

A new centre-half and back-up right-back are wanted. Given the versatile Pavard can comfortably play each of those positions, his signing would kill two birds with one stone.

Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg then listed Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and Inter Milan as Pavard’s potential suitors.

However, a fresh update from Plettenberg has seemingly seen two of those clubs removed from Pavard’s shortlist – Liverpool and Inter.

The German reporter tweeted Pavard “will be allowed to leave Bayern immediately”.

The Bundesliga champions will “demand a transfer fee of €30m-€40m”. That roughly equates to £25.8m-£34.35m, though BILD suggest the lower end of that range should be enough.

Plettenberg then concluded: “Real, Barcelona, Man City, Man Utd and more clubs are in!”

It could telling Liverpool were not mentioned in Plettenberg’s update. Indeed, why mention Liverpool in the first tweet but not in the second unless the Reds are no longer in the running for the player?

In any case, with Bayern open to selling, the player wanting out and the transfer fee not all that high, Pavard looks certain to playing for a different club come next season.

A move to Manchester is certainly viable, though whether it’d be the blue or red half remains to be seen.

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