Manchester United have joined the race to sign Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard, according to Sport1 journalist Kerry Hau.

Manchester City have made the Frenchman a priority target to replace Kyle Walker but Hau claims that United and Juventus are also “serious options”:

Benjamin Pavard hat nun drei ernsthafte Optionen: Manchester City, Manchester United und Juventus Turin. Entscheidung nächste Woche möglich.

Der FC Barcelona ist nicht mehr im Rennen. Den Katalanen fehlt das Geld. Der FC Bayern will mindestens 30 Millionen Euro. @SPORT1

— Kerry Hau (@kerry_hau) July 14, 2023

Hau goes on to say that Barcelona have dropped out of the running due to a lack of funds, with Bayern demanding at least €30m (£26m) for the fullback.

Some may be surprised that Pavard is available so cheaply, considering that he is a World Cup winner and still only 27 years of age, but he has less than a year left on his contract and he has already told Bayern he won’t sign an extension.

Why are United interested in Pavard?

The France international is usually deployed as a right-back and that isn’t an area of the pitch that the Red Devils need to strengthen, with both Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka not expected to leave Old Trafford this summer.

However, Pavard can also play as a centre-half and his versatility would make him a very useful player for manager Erik ten Hag.

Who are the favourites to sign the defender?

At the moment, you would still say that City are the frontrunners to snap up Pavard. The main reason is that they are also in negotiations to sell Walker to Bayern so there could be a potential swap deal on the cards.

Unless United really go in hard with a strong opening offer for the player, it will be difficult for them to make headway in talks.