Benjamin Pavard

[Scholsey2004]

Yeah. It only supports the notion that Pavard is much worse CB than KMJ, yes? At least in Bayern's eyes.

If their level is pretty close, why wouldn't Bayern just have Pavard that can cover RB also?

Pavard has asked to leave. Bayern arent actively trying to get rid of him.

 

[Howl]

Why would we sign him as a right-back when we have two players in that position already? He will be coming as a rotation option for Varane.

I know nothing about him so reading peoples posts on here it sounded like he would be wanted as a right back. Hence why I said if.

 

[croadyman]

This guy would be an unexpected opportunity signing little bit like Casemiro last summer. I am sure that Erik will be aware of his desire to play CB,however will ensure he understands the need to be flexible if he wants to fit into his system.

 

[Powderfinger]

Pavard has asked to leave. Bayern arent actively trying to get rid of him.

More complicated than that. Pavard wants to leave, but mainly because Bayern have shown that they don't really see him as a key player. Boateng and Alaba left in the same summer of 2021, opening up the possibility for Pavard to step into the team and become a mainstay at his favored position of CB, and Bayern responded by buying three other expensive CBs in the next few windows, two of them right footed. And in terms of RB they brought in Mazraoui last summer, loaned Cancelo over the winter, and tried to buy Walker this summer.

Pavard is a very useful and versatile player to have in the squad - the kind of guy managers really like and pick frequently because he can play multiple positions at a decent level and will follow a tactical plan but also the kind of player a big club is going to try to improve on in terms of the starting lineup.

 

[city-puma]

More complicated than that. Pavard wants to leave, but mainly because Bayern have shown that they don't really see him as a key player. Boateng and Alaba left in the same summer of 2021, opening up the possibility for Pavard to step into the team and become a mainstay at his favored position of CB, and Bayern responded by buying three other expensive CBs in the next few windows, two of them right footed. And in terms of RB they brought in Mazraoui last summer, loaned Cancelo over the winter, and tried to buy Walker this summer.

Pavard is a very useful and versatile player to have in the squad - the kind of guy managers really like and pick frequently because he can play multiple positions at a decent level and will follow a tactical plan but also the kind of player a big club is going to try to improve on in terms of the starting lineup.

From what you described, it seems like a William Gallas situation.
I’m not sure how much he prefers CB position to play. A tweet said he wants a new challenge. Probably just doesn’t want to spend almost all his career in Bundesliga.

 

[croadyman]

Do you reckon a back 3 consisting of him, Rapha & Licha could work for Erik. Would say he suited that more than AWB in that role

 

[CM]

Do you reckon a back 3 consisting of him, Rapha & Licha could work for Erik. Would say he suited that more than AWB in that role

Yes, because Wan-Bissaka's lack of positional awareness and aerial deficiencies mean he is completely unsuitable to play in a back 3. Pavard can play both positions and supposedly prefers playing CB but is far more experienced at RB.

 

[dasty]

Pavard's stats on FBRef is really quite amazing. Top percentile in almost every passing and possession category while being no slouch in defense, both as a CB or RB.

 

[Cela shomana]

More complicated than that. Pavard wants to leave, but mainly because Bayern have shown that they don't really see him as a key player. Boateng and Alaba left in the same summer of 2021, opening up the possibility for Pavard to step into the team and become a mainstay at his favored position of CB, and Bayern responded by buying three other expensive CBs in the next few windows, two of them right footed. And in terms of RB they brought in Mazraoui last summer, loaned Cancelo over the winter, and tried to buy Walker this summer.

Pavard is a very useful and versatile player to have in the squad - the kind of guy managers really like and pick frequently because he can play multiple positions at a decent level and will follow a tactical plan but also the kind of player a big club is going to try to improve on in terms of the starting lineup.

Also Bayern might have been aware
of his intentions to seek new challenges and unwillingness to extend his contract hence they bought those players. How about that?

 

[croadyman]

Pavard's stats on FBRef is really quite amazing. Top percentile in almost every passing and possession category while being no slouch in defense, both as a CB or RB.

Surprised the assist percentile isn't higher because has got decent delivery from wide

 

[Reyoji-Utd]

Flexibility is the key factor here. All things consider, he offers more tactical flexibility, experience, good age, winning mindset...ect. while the other 2 targets can still be working on with view of getting them next summer as there is no clear indication that we could get it done quick unlike Pavard because he wants out rather than Bayern want him sold.

 

[croadyman]

Flexibility is the key factor here. All things consider, he offers more tactical flexibility, experience, good age, winning mindset...ect. while the other 2 targets can still be working on with view of getting them next summer as there is no clear indication that we could get it done quick unlike Pavard because he wants out rather than Bayern want him sold.

Yeah I am confident either can still be picked up next summer,even if they aren't I am sure there will be plenty of tall technical CB's strong in the air with recovery pace who we can sign.

 

[dasty]

Surprised the assist percentile isn't higher because has got decent delivery from wide

He did spend around half of his games playing as CB so that will drop his assist percentile down quite significantly I would assume.

 

[croadyman]

Pavard is my choice due to the flexibility he offers of being able to play CB in back 3/4 and RB in back 4 too which think appeals to Erik

 

[croadyman]

He did spend around half of his games playing as CB so that will drop his assist percentile down quite significantly I would assume.

Ah OK that would explain it

 

[Borys]

Makes sense to sign him but probably we could get rid of Wan Bissaka, right? I'd assume we could get decent money for him.
Dalot is still young so might stay. We get Pavard to cover for RB for one season, next season we get a proper attacking full back and Pavard goes for CB. That makes sense as a transition move. Otherwise I'd rather just go for younger/faster CBs mentioned earlier (before our interest in Pavard has been revealed). We have enough cover for RB. I can't imagine both Wan Bissaka and Dalot sitting on a bench.

 

[Wezzaldo]

What’s the obsession with playing a back 3? As far as I’m aware EtH has never played a back 3 and our squad doesn’t suit a back 3 (too many players would be made redundant). It ain’t going to happen, ever imo!

 

[croadyman]

What’s the obsession with playing a back 3? As far as I’m aware EtH has never played a back 3 and our squad doesn’t suit a back 3 (too many players would be made redundant). It ain’t going to happen, ever imo!

Did he not experiment with it in pre season

 

[Strelok]

What’s the obsession with playing a back 3? As far as I’m aware EtH has never played a back 3 and our squad doesn’t suit a back 3 (too many players would be made redundant). It ain’t going to happen, ever imo!

Tbf when we're in possession we're actually playing a back 3 with one of the FB moving into the midfield.

The thing with this recent trend of modern football is the more versatile a player is the better imo. Tbh sometime watching us I have no idea who is doing what anymore because players exchange positions and responsibilities a lot. Guess the opponents have no idea either. That surely makes us quite unpredictable and hard to defend against.

 

[TsuWave]

I’m still holding out hope that we get Todibo

 

[croadyman]

I’m still holding out hope that we get Todibo

Will fully back Erik if that's who he sees as Varane's long term successor

 

[Wezzaldo]

Did he not experiment with it in pre season

Which game? I only saw the Arsenal, Madrid and Lens games and don’t recall him doing it in them.

 

[Wezzaldo]

Tbf when we're in possession we're actually playing a back 3 with one of the FB moving into the midfield.

The thing with this recent trend of modern football is the more versatile a player is the better imo. Tbh sometime watching us I have no idea who is doing what anymore because players exchange positions and responsibilities a lot. Guess the opponents have no idea either. That surely makes us quite unpredictable and hard to defend against.

I agree that shape is kind of adopted when in possession, but on paper the personnel is still that of a back four if that makes sense, as it is when we’re out of possession.

 

[TsuWave]

Makes sense to sign him but probably we could get rid of Wan Bissaka, right? I'd assume we could get decent money for him.
Dalot is still young so might stay.

Dalot and Wan Bissaka are basically the same age - I think there’s slightly less/more than a year difference

There have been reports this week the club is looking to renew Wan Bissaka’s contract as a reward for his improvement/development

 

[Borys]

Dalot and Wan Bissaka are basically the same age with Wan Bissaka being older by like 4 months.

There have been reports this week the club is looking to renew Wan Bissaka’s contract as a reward for his improvement/development

Right. I didn't know there's no age difference between them tbh. Dalot has all the tools and is better in many aspects of the build up/attacking game, just a worse defender and makes a lot of bad decisions. But there's a good player in there, maybe we can still cook him a bit. Wan Bissaka is what he is, he's never going to be a modern full back but he's an exceptional 1on1 defender so it's a tough one I guess.

 

[Strelok]

I agree that shape is kind of adopted when in possession, but on paper the personnel is still that of a back four if that makes sense, as it is when we’re out of possession.

Agree but imo what we actually do in the match is more important than what's on paper.

On paper we usually play with a 4231. But actually imo it's a 3223 or 3133 when we're in possession. And that's pretty much what we're when we lose possession and have to face a counter as well. Anyway imo we should leave this to ETH I think. His tactics are simply too complicated for common folks like us to really understand what he intend to do with his players. If he wants Pavard then he must think Pavard is a good fit for his tactic I think.

 

[Fortitude]

Makes sense to sign him but probably we could get rid of Wan Bissaka, right? I'd assume we could get decent money for him.
Dalot is still young so might stay. We get Pavard to cover for RB for one season, next season we get a proper attacking full back and Pavard goes for CB. That makes sense as a transition move. Otherwise I'd rather just go for younger/faster CBs mentioned earlier (before our interest in Pavard has been revealed). We have enough cover for RB. I can't imagine both Wan Bissaka and Dalot sitting on a bench.

Wan Bissaka is a very good stand in or specialist we can roll out for key games or elite players in key duel games. He's a very useful squaddie to have this season. Dalot covers both LB and RB, which also gives him purpose particularly in indirect cover for Lisandro (Shaw going to CB) as Malacia then doesn't necessarily have to see the pitch.

I understand the clamour for a much better CB, but Pavard raises our right flank prospects so massively this season that he - or what is on offer - shouldn't be casually overlooked. Any CB that comes in starts on the bench and is reliant on Varane needing rotation or being injured to get games - they don't strengthen the 1st xi out the gate. Pavard does, and that's worth something in and of itself.

If the club opt for the elite CB prospect understudy this term, our RB's or even right flank, remains a massive weakness in the team, so it's a horses for courses/ pick your poison scenario on what, ultimately, you'd think is best for us. There's also the short, mid and long term gains/losses of the direction taken with the CB being a great mid and long term benefit and Pavard being the short and mid-term no-brainer given he himself would be upgraded upon further down the line, most likely.

 

[CallyRed]

I have a pavardon for this transfer

 

[Crimson King]

If he comes here it won't be to play RB. Sure, he might play there from time to time, but he wants to be a CB and that's where he'll expect to play.

 

[Zed is not dead]

Surprised the assist percentile isn't higher because has got decent delivery from wide

I’m not sure what games you watch that made you think he has decent delivery.
He basically plays like a CB even when played RB.
If you guys believe that Dalot and AWB offer nothing going forward, Pavard is definitely not the answer then.
He’s a tidy passer, but that’s about it. He won’t overlap with his winger, won’t deliver crosses from deep, and he’s not that fast too.
His defensive abilities are at best on par with Lindelof.

For 30m he’s a good addition to the squad, but I can’t see him replace any of our starters. Most likely he’ll play like a 3rd CB in the build up phase and one of our midfielders will take the overlap on the right

 

[onemanarmy]

More complicated than that. Pavard wants to leave, but mainly because Bayern have shown that they don't really see him as a key player. Boateng and Alaba left in the same summer of 2021, opening up the possibility for Pavard to step into the team and become a mainstay at his favored position of CB, and Bayern responded by buying three other expensive CBs in the next few windows, two of them right footed. And in terms of RB they brought in Mazraoui last summer, loaned Cancelo over the winter, and tried to buy Walker this summer.

Pavard is a very useful and versatile player to have in the squad - the kind of guy managers really like and pick frequently because he can play multiple positions at a decent level and will follow a tactical plan but also the kind of player a big club is going to try to improve on in terms of the starting lineup.

And it's a testament to his skillset that neither Cancelo or Mazraoui have been able to displace him at RB, and he still played 20+ games at CB for one of the biggest clubs in the world, despite them getting a lot of fancy CB's.

 

[Rake]

Isn't he a better RB anyway? If we are strictly looking for a CB, maybe we'd be better off with one of the other targets?

 

[jderbyshire]

Do you reckon a back 3 consisting of him, Rapha & Licha could work for Erik. Would say he suited that more than AWB in that role

Kind of, in the way that AWB/Dalot are asked to invert into the half space and provide support there, with Antony hugging the touchline (as oppose to Shaw who's more free to go wide further forward).

I think as some have mentioned, he clearly doesn't have a definite first choice out of Dalot and AWB, as neither of them are ideal - so I can see Pavard playing more at RB.

 

[Wezzaldo]

Agree but imo what we actually do in the match is more important than what's on paper.

On paper we usually play with a 4231. But actually imo it's a 3223 or 3133 when we're in possession. And that's pretty much what we're when we lose possession and have to face a counter as well. Anyway imo we should leave this to ETH I think. His tactics are simply too complicated for common folks like us to really understand what he intend to do with his players. If he wants Pavard then he must think Pavard is a good fit for his tactic I think.

Agree, melts my brain haha. What I meant though, but explained badly probably, is that he always has four defenders in his line ups, not 3 CBs.

 

[Enigma_87]

I’m not sure what games you watch that made you think he has decent delivery.
He basically plays like a CB even when played RB.
If you guys believe that Dalot and AWB offer nothing going forward, Pavard is definitely not the answer then.
He’s a tidy passer, but that’s about it. He won’t overlap with his winger, won’t deliver crosses from deep, and he’s not that fast too.
His defensive abilities are at best on par with Lindelof.

For 30m he’s a good addition to the squad, but I can’t see him replace any of our starters. Most likely he’ll play like a 3rd CB in the build up phase and one of our midfielders will take the overlap on the right

ETH played with inverted fullbacks at Ajax, with the prime example in Blind. I can see us operating the same way with Pavard replicating that role whilst Antony pushes wide more often, whilst Shaw can replicate Mazraoui and be the more attacking one creating width with a better delivery than Pavard.

Key with Pavard is that he can play all across the defensive line and even DM on occasion, so that's a big plus.

 

[Parma Dewol]

After the calamitous transfer activity of recent years, I can't get my head around the prospect of selling Maguire and bringing in Pavard.

It's too good to be true. What the heck is happening this window, we're making all the right moves and not doing the silly things we've become renowned for.

Not sure about this Erik Ten Hag fellow. It he keeps on like this people will start taking United seriously again.

 

[r3idy]

Very good pedigree, technically sound and experienced at international, champions league level, whats not to like if we can pull this one off.

 

[ErikElevenHag]

Given how comfortable he is on the ball and his capacity for passing any chance he is also cover for Casemiro? has he ever been used in DM?

What is it with this forum and people wanting to play defenders as CDMs

 

[golden_blunder]

Im not convinced by any of the 3 we are being linked to but since we missed out on Kim, what else can we get for around the 30m mark

 

[Enigma_87]

What is it with this forum and people wanting to play defenders as CDMs

Not on regular basis but we did have issues with Casemiro being banned in several games and didn't have anyone to put in that could've done a makeshift job. Pavard is more accustomed than say McT or Fred shielding the back four..