Benjamin Pavard has been described as ‘a bit of a risk’ amid reports that Liverpool are weighing up a move for the Bayern Munich star.
The France international, who signed for the Bundesliga giants from Stuttgart in 2019, is approaching the final 12 months of his current deal at the Allianz Arena and it’s believed he ‘wants to leave’ the club this summer.
The German champions may therefore be willing to sell the 27-year-old, who Kicker have reported is being considered by Jurgen Klopp’s side, before the start of the 2023/24 campaign to ensure they receive some sort of transfer fee for the versatile defender and CBS reporter Jonathon Johnson has weighed in on the World Cup winner’s current situation.
“There have been question marks over Benjamin Pavard’s mentality for some time,” he told Caught Offside. “When you look at what happened with the World Cup, he started as a member of Didier Deschamps’ squad and then pretty much sank without trace after that – and that was linked to some attitude issues. It’s also something that we’ve heard a bit about from his time at Bayern Munich as well this kind of a feeling that he’s outgrown his surroundings, though I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that. He’s been considered quite a high profile name since that stunning goal scored at the 2018 World Cup and sometimes he’s found it a bit difficult to live up to that.
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“There’ve been persistent rumours linking him with Barcelona if he does move away from Bayern Munich. I think a move is likely to happen at this stage with a new contract uncertain and Bayern also set to have a significant facelift after only winning the Bundesliga title on the final day. All signs point towards Barcelona, but I don’t see there being a natural opening for him at Camp Nou, certainly not as a priority arrival. It could be that he has to consider other options, but at this moment in time it does seem unlikely that he stays at Bayern.
“When interested clubs look at him beyond what he brings on the pitch and his his technical profile, they’ll look at his mentality and some clubs will be put off. Liverpool and Manchester United… I do think that the likes of Klopp and ten Hag will probably see Pavard as a bit of a risk. He does have the ability to play for a top European club but it seems like the player himself already has an idea of what the next move should be in his career and I’m not sure that I necessarily see that being in the Premier League.”
Pavard rose to fame after scoring a stunning goal for France as they went all the way during the Russia World Cup five years ago.
There’s no doubting his quality and he’s a player that would bring a huge amount of experience on the big stage to Klopp’s squad but if there is any question marks over his attitude and work rate then we’d rather Klopp and Co. steer clear.
His ability to operate at both right back and centre halve is something that may appeal to our German tactician, however, especially when you consider that Trent Alexander-Arnold looks destined to become a central midfielder.
The Bayern No. 5 featured 43 times for the Rekordmeister this term (across all competitions) and if we were to test the water with an offer for his services you’d suspect he’d be excited by the prospect of playing in the Premier League and under the former Borussia Dortmund boss.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan are also being linked with a move so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Strengthening our midfield is the main priority this summer but we wouldn’t be against the idea of brining in quality reinforcements to solidify our backline further ahead of the new campaign.