Man Utd CLOSE IN on Maguire replacement - Romano

Updated: 12 Aug 2023 16:12 BST
3 min read

Harry Maguire, Erik ten Hag — © ProShots/FootballTransfers

Manchester United are closing in on their replacement for Harry Maguire, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Red Devils will see their erstwhile captain depart for West Ham, with the player failing to convince Erik ten Hag during his first season at the club. The money raised from this sale will, in turn, go towards signing a replacement for the England defender.

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Three potential options have crystalised in recent days: Jean-Clair Todibo, Benjamin Pavard and Edmond Tapsoba. As FootballTransfers has exclusively revealed, Ten Hag and company baulked at Leverkusen's asking price for Tapsoba and have moved on from him.

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Nice chairman Jean-Pierre Rivere has acknowledged that Todibo is in talks with 'European clubs' and could very well depart the Ligue 1 side this summer, though he did not name Manchester United specifically.

All the while, Erik ten Hag has been leaning towards his long-time target Pavard, we are told, and it seems that concrete steps are finally being taken to sign him.

Talks started

That's according to Fabrizio Romano, who reports that United have initiated contact with Bayern Munich for their wantaway defender, who is on an expiring contract.

The 2019 World Cup winner already informed the Bavarians weeks ago that he has no intention to renew his deal and the expectation is that he will leave this summer while Bayern can still cash in on him.

"Understand Manchester United have contacted Bayern for Benjamin Pavard deal," Romano wrote on Twitter, but it's not quite a straightforward affair. "There’s still no green light from Bayern."

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"But Pavard's intention is clear," the Italian transfer expert continued, "he wants to leave and try [a] new chapter. Pavard won’t sign [a] new deal at Bayern and [the] current one expires in June 2024."

The Frenchman would certainly be attainable with the money generated from the Maguire sale as his current Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) sits at €24.6 million.