Manchester United’s search for a Harry Maguire replacement saw them make a formal approach to Bayern Munich for Benjamin Pavard, which was rejected.
According to German outlet SportBILD, the Bavarian giants are demanding an astronomical fee for the World Cup winner, despite Pavard having less than a year to run on his current contract.
The report claims that United’s bid was worth around £25m (€29m), which was generally thought to be a fair deal all round.
After all, Pavard has no intention of signing a new contract and is keen to move to pastures new this summer.
And as reported by The Peoples Person, he is “willing to fight” to get his move to Old Trafford, suggesting that a fair deal should be possible.
But with Bayern failing to sign their top right-back target this summer in Kyle Walker, they are hesitant to do business over Pavard.
That has led to them slapping the France star with a price tag of between €45m and €50m, or up to £43m in English money.
A fee of that magnitude would put the player well out of Man United’s reach.
They are due to receive around £30m for Harry Maguire should they sell him, and have just completed a deal worth £13m for Fred, although £4.31m of that fee is made up of add-ons.
That leaves Erik ten Hag with very little to play with, particularly considering his desire to also add more quality to his current midfield options.
‘Maguire out, Pavard in’ looked to be a fairly straightforward bit of business for the club, but with the Bundesliga champions holding to a value €20m above what United are able to pay, the deal now appears to be on the rocks.
This development opens the door to the possibility of Harry Maguire staying at Manchester United this season, which does not seem to be a good ending for anyone involved. To salvage his transfer to West Ham, Ten Hag may need to move onto more affordable targets.