Man Utd opening offer ‘rejected’ after Ten Hag picks Bayern defender from three-man shortlist
Manchester United’s opening bid for Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard has been rejected by the Bundesliga champions, according to Christian Falk.
Pavard started for Bayern in their disappointing Super Cup defeat to RB Leipzig on Saturday evening, coming off at half-time with his side 2-0 down.
The French international has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United in recent weeks amidst reports he is unwilling to extend his Bayern contract beyond 2024.
There has been interest for quite some time but Harry Maguire’s impending move to West Ham has called Erik ten Hag into action as he seeks a replacement for a player who started eight matches across all competitions last season.
Pavard is someone who can comfortably operate as a centre-back or right-back, which will obviously make him a desirable addition given the uncertainty over Ten Hag’s long-term right-sided defender.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot have impressed under the Dutch manager, though both players are easily replaceable.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong is another player believed to be on Ten Hag’s shortlist but that transfer seems very unlikely at this stage of the transfer window.
It was reported earlier this week that the Red Devils manager was yet to decide whether to pursue Pavard, Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo, or Frimpong’s Leverkusen teammate, Edmond Tapsoba.
That question has been emphatically answered with BILD journalist Christian Falk saying United have made an opening offer for Pavard.
Unfortunately for us, Falk did not give us too much information; just that the bid was rejected and that negotiations will ‘continue’.
We are not completely lost, though, after Florian Plettenberg and Fabrizio Romano both confirmed Falk’s claim.
The former says Pavard remains ‘very open’ to joining the Red Devils having reached a ‘verbal agreement’ with the Premier League giants.
United will ‘keep pushing’, Plettenberg claims. Romano, meanwhile, says Pavard ‘insists’ he wants to leave Bayern with Ten Hag’s side expected to come back with a second bid.
There is no mention of how much United put on the table for Pavard, though Romano also claimed in his CaughtOffside column that the Frenchman is available for ‘less than €35million’ (£30.2million).
He wrote: ‘I’m told that Man United could get Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich for less than the reported €35m. This is the feeling at the Manchester club as everybody is waiting for the clubs to discuss a fee.
‘At the moment, the deal is not at that stage yet. Pavard would be a replacement for Harry Maguire but we are still waiting for Maguire to agree personal terms with West Ham.
‘As for other targets wanted by Man United, I can tell you that Jean-Clair Todibo remains on the list; and then other than the two just mentioned, Tapsoba and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.’
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