Manchester United to sign versatile defender in cut-price deal: report

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag arrives ahead of the pre-season friendly between Arsenal and Manchester United at MetLife Stadium on July 22, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
(Image credit: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Manchester United are lining up a potential replacement for Harry Maguire in their defence, Erik ten Hag keen on one target who will add extra value to their squad.

Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund have all joined Manchester United this summer, but the club aren't content with ending their transfer business there.

With Harry Maguire the subject of a £30m bid from West Ham United and set to leave, the Red Devils are looking for a replacement in defence. While Jean-Clair Todibo has been linked in recent days, it could be another Frenchman moving to Old Trafford this summer.

According to French outlet L'Equipe, Manchester United are lining up a £26m bid for Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard, who is available on a cut-price deal due to having just a year remaining on his contract with the German giants.

The 27-year-old is a versatile defender capable of playing at both right-back and centre-back, as demonstrated during his four seasons in Bavaria. 

Across his time at the club, Pavard has largely featured on the right of a back four, though a third of his appearances have also come in the centre of defence.

Manchester United target Benjamin Pavard of Bayern Muenchen controls the Ball during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern München and RB Leipzig at Allianz Arena on May 20, 2023 in Munich, Germany.

Pavard could sign for United for just £26m (Image credit: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

With Maguire departing, this could prove invaluable to Erik ten Hag, who L'Equipe are suggesting is extremely keen on adding Pavard to his squad. 

Neither Diogo Dalot nor Aaron Wan-Bissaka have managed to nail down the right-back spot in the team since the Dutchman arrived, while Luke Shaw was used at centre-back on occasion last term when the first-choice partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane was unavailable. 

Transfermarkt values Pavard at £35m, despite just the year remaining on his current deal. 

Manchester United France's defender Raphael Varane (TOP) and France's defender Benjamin Pavard (L) vie with Croatia's forward Mario Mandzukic during the Russia 2018 World Cup final football match between France and Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15, 2018. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO MOBILE PUSH ALERTS/DOWNLOADS (Photo credit should read FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Pavard and Varane played alongside each other as France won the 2018 World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

More Manchester United news

Manchester United transfer news is starting to come thick and fast.

The Manchester United season preview looks at why the Red Devils can start to dream of winning the Premier League title again, while all other 91 clubs in the top four tiers of English football are looked at, too.  

Meanwhile, David Beckham has claimed the Glazers now need to leave, as Marcus Rashford reveals how Erik ten Hag has transformed the club in his year in charge.

Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.