Bayern Munich star Benjamin Pavard has been linked with Manchester United this summer with Erik ten Hag still looking to strengthen his squad.
United have already brought defenders Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez to the club this summer, with Ten Hag showing a desire to improve his squad defensively. A handful of other defenders have been linked with United in recent weeks, but according to German outlet Sport1, Bayern Munich have offered Pavard to both United and Chelsea.
With Bayern's preferred formation consisting of three centre-backs, Pavard is not guaranteed to start. The report also adds that the 26-year-old is valued at €35m (£30m), a decent price for the defender who played a major role in France's World Cup win in 2018.
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So, what could happen next season for United if they were to sign Pavard? Could the French defender help push United back into the Champions League?
We 'signed' Benjamin Pavard for Man United
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Pavard to sign for United this summer before their Premier League opener. The likes of Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen were also included in the squad.
The Frenchman became a regular for United in the 2022/23 season, making 39 appearances in all competitions. Starting predominantly at right back, Pavard's ability to play centre back saw the Frenchman rotated with Martinez and Raphael Varane, leading to Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof being loaned out in January.
In attack, Pavard wasn't particularly effective, registering no goals and just one assist in all competitions. That one assist came in the Premier League, where he made his most appearances (26). But at the end of the season, Pavard ended the campaign with an average rating of 7.11 per game, due to his solid defensive work. When compared to the rest of the United defenders, only Varane averaged higher (7.17).
United's entire defence had a low attacking input and offered little threat from set pieces in the 2022/23 season, with Martinez's one goal and five assists the best return. Pavard did have the best pass completion out of United's defence though (94%), whilst his tackle success (79%) was third best behind Martinez (81%) and Varane (84%).
At the end of the 2022-23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022-23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Pavard, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; Fred, Eriksen; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial.
Pavard, Martinez and Malacia all made the best XI in defence, whilst Christian Eriksen started in a midfield pivot with Fred. Cristiano Ronaldo was rotated with Anthony Martial throughout the season, with the latter scoring 18 compared to Ronaldo's 15 and making the best XI.
United's results from the Pavard simulation
United showed major improvement in the 2022/23 season under Ten Hag, ending their Premier League campaign in third place. Compared to the previous season, United earned 30 more points in total, pushing them into the Champions League spots.
Another impressive stat in the simulated season was how much United improved defensively. With Malacia, Martinez and Pavard regularly making up the back four, Ten Hag's side conceded just 32 goals in 38 games, the second best in the league and 25 fewer than the previous season.
The problem for United lay in attack, as they scored 59 goals throughout the season, only the seventh best in the league. Ten Hag's side were also decent in the cups, winning a trophy to top off a successful season.
After beating Man City and Arsenal on their way to the final, Bruno Fernandes' second-half strike won the FA Cup for United in a 1-0 win over West Ham United. A 2-0 defeat to Newcastle saw United eliminated in the Carabao Cup fourth round, and a 4-3 loss to AS Monaco saw Ten Hag's side knocked out of the Europa League in the quarter-finals.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that the addition of Pavard could make United one of the strongest defensive teams in England, leading Ten Hag's side to a top-four finish and FA Cup trophy. But, a lack of attacking input from United's new defenders and no new attacking additions saw Ten Hag's side struggle for goals.
Would you like to see Pavard sign for Manchester United this summer? Let us know in the comments!
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