Bayern Munich 'reject opening Manchester United bid for Benjamin Pavard'

The Red Devils are believed to have identified the France international as an ideal replacement for Harry Maguire, whom Man United have apparently accepted a £30m bid from West Ham United for.

It is still unclear whether Maguire will give the green light to a transfer to the London Stadium, but Erik ten Hag's side are making contingency plans in case their ex-captain departs.

Even if Maguire stays put, the Red Devils' defensive options have been depleted by the exits of Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe, while Eric Bailly is also expected to depart in the current window.

A recent report stated that Man United had made first contact with Bayern over a deal for the ex-Stuttgart and Lille man, and according to Bild journalist Christian Falk, an opening bid was lodged.

However, Falk adds that Bayern rejected Man United's first offer, although negotiations between the two clubs are continuing in the hope that an agreement will be struck.

Pavard has entered the final year of his contract with the Bundesliga champions and has apparently shown no interest in signing an extension as he seeks out a new challenge elsewhere.

Bayern are therefore happy to let Pavard leave for the right price this summer before his possible departure on a free transfer in 2024, and a separate update from Kaveh Solhekol states that the Bavarians want €30m (£25.9m) to sanction a sale.

It is believed that Bayern and Man United are currently a ways apart in their valuations of the France international, but Pavard is pushing hard in his attempts to engineer a move to Old Trafford.

Despite Jones and Tuanzebe's exits and the expected departure of Bailly, Solhekol indicates that Pavard can only join Ten Hag's side if Maguire departs, which is far from a certainty at this stage.

Pavard has amassed 12 goals and 12 assists from 163 games in a Bayern shirt since joining in 2019, prior to which he became a World Cup winner with France in the 2018 tournament.

A strong individual campaign in the 2022-23 season saw Pavard come up with seven goals and one assist in 43 matches, being deployed as a right-back and centre-back for Thomas Tuchel's side.

Pavard was given the nod at right-back for Saturday's DFL Super Cup clash with RB Leipzig, but he was taken off for Noussair Mazraoui at half time as Bayern slumped to a 3-0 defeat.

Barcelona were also linked with a move for Pavard amid their search for a new right-back, but the La Liga champions have since turned their attention to Manchester City's Joao Cancelo.

As well as Pavard, Man United are also thought to be keeping tabs on Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo, who has supposedly been watched by scouts from the Red Devils.