Benjamin Pavard of Bayern Munich has long been mentioned as a potential right-back target for La Liga winners Barcelona, who are in the market.
The French international, whose deal with the Bavarian giants is about to expire, is eager to leave the team, and the German champions are willing to approve a departure for about €30 million.
As such, Barcelona have been continuing to keep tabs on Pavard’s situation, but according to reports in England, as relayed by SPORT, the La Liga champions could lose out to Liverpool in the race to sign the 27-year-old right-back.
Indeed, as per the report, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner’s entourage is already negotiating his transfer to Liverpool, which could put him out of reach of the Blaugrana this summer.
Inter Milan had also shown an interest in Pavard, but they are not in a position to pay the €30 million that Bayern Munich are demanding for him.
As for Barcelona, the signing of a right-back is a necessity given that they were reliant on Jules Kounde as a makeshift operator in the position for the majority of the 2022/23 campaign. And while the Frenchman did well, he does not wish to continue in the role any longer.
Julian Araujo is an option, but a call on his involvement will only be taken after seeing how he fares during the pre-season.
Despite the situation being as it is, Barcelona are not prioritising the signing of a right-back at this point. Instead, the focus is on bringing in a pivot and an interior midfielder first, along with a new striker.
Only after that, depending on the Financial Fair Play situation, the signing of a right-back would be considered.
By that time, however, Barcelona could kiss goodbye to any chances of landing Pavard as he appears to be on his way to Liverpool as per reports.
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