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Manchester United could move for Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard should they fail to sign Jeremie Frimpong in the summer.
That is according to Football Insider, who claim that the Bavarian giants may look to hijack the Red Devils’ pursuit of the Bayer Leverkusen defender.
That would leave the door open for a Pavard exit and, with United looking to strengthen the right back position, a ‘domino effect’ could see the Frenchman at Old Trafford.
Given the Bayern Munich man’s contract is set to expire at the end of next season, he would likely be available at a knock-down price.
That will be especially true if Bayern make moves to sign another fullback in the summer, with Noussair Mazraoui having only joined the Bundesliga side recently.
Pavard is also comfortable in central defence, which could make him valuable to United as they look to cover for injuries and fatigue while competing for multiple trophies.
The side has struggled at times to deal with absences in the preferred central defensive partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez. Pavard has the versatility to alleviate those concerns while providing quality in the fullback position.
The report does insist that Frimpong remains Man United’s ideal candidate, however. That would make interest in Pavard somewhat peculiar, given that the pair are completely different types of player.
While Frimpong is a marauding attacking fullback who stretches the play on the right and takes players on, Pavard is essentially a converted central defender.
He does not dribble or provide much threat out wide, although he is an exceptional passer of the ball.
It is possible that Ten Hag simply wants to bring in a right back with good ball progression, in which case both players fit the bill, albeit in entirely different way.
However, it seems more likely that the manager would prefer to have a player in the position who could support Antony or Jadon Sancho in front of them by using their pace and dynamism to create space and passing options.
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