Benjamin Pavard: Can the Bayern defender replace Maguire at Man United?

Benjamin Pavard is in negotiations to leave Bayern Munich and join Premier League side Manchester United. Both the Munich-based paper tz and Sky Germany reported that Pavard told Bayern officials in May that he would like to leave Bayern this summer. According to Sport1, Pavard has not changed his mind and would still like to leave the club. Pavard’s opinion remains unchanged even after the club failed to sign Kyle Walker from Manchester City. 

Sky reported that the Premier League club and Pavard are working on a verbal agreement. The French paper L’Équipe reported that both sides assume that Bayern would be willing to allow Pavard to leave for around €30 million. Man United are currently looking for a replacement for Harry Maguire. The 30-year-old English national team player is on the verge of joining West Ham United. 

It has been clear for several months that Pavard does not want to renew his contract, which is set to expire in the summer of 2024. In 2019, Bayern used an exit clause to sign the French national team player for €35m from league competitor VfB Stuttgart. Capable of playing both a center-back and right-back, Pavard has played 162 games across all competitions for Bayern, scoring 12 goals and 12 assists. 

Pavard to Man United: Why Erik ten Hag wants the Frenchman

For Pavard, his flexibility has been both a blessing and a curse. The 27-year-old sees himself as a center-back, but with Bayern Munich struggling to find a proper solution for the right-back position, Pavard often found himself playing out wide. Since joining Bayern, Pavard played 115 games (seven goals and ten assists) as a right-back and just 44 games (two goals and two assists) as a center-back. Under new Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel, Pavard predominantly featured as a center-back but was moved out to the right-back position in the key games against Man City and Bayern’s season finale against 1.FC Köln.

Tuchel, in fact, loves Pavard’s flexibility and would love to keep Pavard. But the Frenchman has made up his mind, and with Maguire leaving Man United, there is now a clear path for Pavard to move on. But is Pavard a good center-back solution for Man United manager Erik ten Hag? Underlying stats from last season provided by Wyscout highlight why Ten Hag could find Pavard an intriguing Maguire replacement. The Frenchman played more accurate passes (92.09% vs 90.33%) than Maguire and also more accurate long passes (68.42% vs 62.92%). 

There are also some key defensive stats that make Pavard an upgrade to Maguire. Although Maguire was involved in more aerial duels per 90 (5.76 vs 4.24), Pavard won more of his aerial duels (65.09% vs 61.94%). Finally, Pavard was engaged in more defensive duels per 90 than Maguire last season (6.04 vs 3.83) and had more successful interceptions per 90 (4.92 vs 3.4). Those numbers and the fact that Pavard is significantly younger make him look like an upgrade to Maguire on paper. But like Maguire at Man United, Pavard’s game has not always been perfect for Bayern since joining the club in 2019, and in Munich, there are still doubts about whether the Frenchman has what it takes to play as a center-back full-time.