One defender on Erik ten Hag’s shortlist WANTS Manchester United
By Evan Curnew
As The Top Flight has previously reported, the expectation is that Harry Maguire will join West Ham, and Manchester United have a replacement list. That shortlist, likely curated by Erik ten Hag, contains the names of Edmond Tapsoba, Benjamin Pavard and Jean-Clair Todibo. It is likely immediately after Maguire completes his move to West Ham, Manchester United will push to bring in one of the following players. According to reports, one of these players, in particular, is keen on the move to Old Trafford.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Bayern’s Benjamin Pavard is open to leaving his current club this transfer window. He is very open to experiencing the Premier League and joining Manchester United. Romano believes that the two frontrunners to replace Maguire are actually Pavard and Todibo. Tapsoba is merely seen as a backup to both of those players. It is believed that Erik ten Hag will decide which player he wants.
The Athletic state that Pavard has a preference to play at centre-back despite having plenty of experience at right-back. He is more likely to have that wish come true at Manchester United than at his current club Bayern Munich. Pavard is from Northern France and came through the highly-respected academy system of Lille OSC. Before he even had a chance to become a regular starter at Lille, Pavard made a move to the Bundesliga with Stuttgart. After three seasons, Pavard made the intra-league switch to Bayern Munich in 2019 for roughly £30m.
Fellow Frenchman Raphael Varane will hold down the starting RCB spot for the time being at Manchester United, but Pavard will back himself to earn valuable minutes. It’s likely Bayern Munich will not command a massive fee for Pavard, given that he has just a year left on his contract with the club. Soon enough Man United fans will know who will replace their former captain Harry Maguire.