Manchester United 'in pole position to sign Benjamin Pavard'

The Premier League giants can claim to have enjoyed a productive transfer window, signing goalkeeper Andre Onana, midfielder Mason Mount and forward Rasmus Hojlund.

As a result of spending in excess of £160m on three players, United are now in a position where they need to facilitate sales in order to boost their position with FFP.

Midfielder Fred is seemingly on the verge of completing a transfer to Turkish giants Fenerbahce, adding to United's need to add another defensive-minded player to the engine room.

Nevertheless, with Harry Maguire having also been heavily linked with a switch to West Ham United, head coach Erik ten Hag will need to find an alternative for the middle of his backline.

At a time when he has less than a year remaining on his contract at the Allianz Arena, Pavard has been linked with a number of different clubs having previously spoken of his desire for a new challenge.

According to Sky Sport Deutschland reporter Florian Plettenburg on Twitter, United have become the frontrunners to wrap up a deal for the France international.

Plettenburg says that Pavard is in favour of a transfer to Old Trafford, the suggestion being that he would like to play under Ten Hag.

Negotiations are said to have been held between the relevant parties with United seemingly being told that Bayern would be ready to sell at €30m (£25.97m).

Head coach Thomas Tuchel is said to want to retain the 27-year-old's services, yet it appears that Bayern would prefer to avoid losing a key player on a free transfer.

In his four years at Bayern, Pavard has contributed nine goals and seven assists from 174 appearances, largely from right-back, but he would likely be viewed as a centre-back should he move to the Theatre of Dreams.

Ten Hag already has Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at his disposal at right-back, although the plans for Pavard could change if the latter was sold before the end of August.

Pavard's acquisition would also give Ten Hag more opportunities to switch to a back three, the 2018 World Cup winner experienced in featuring on the right-hand side in that formation.