Liverpool and Tottenham Dealt Huge Blow in Their Pursuit of Young French Defender

Stuttgart have dealt Tottenham and Liverpool a huge blow in their pursuit of French defender Benjamin Pavard. The club have revealed that he will not be leaving in the summer - according to reports in ESPN.

Spurs have reportedly sent scouts to watch Pavard this season and they are among a host of other clubs monitoring his situation at Stuttgart.

The 21-year-old has played every minute of Stuttgart's last 41 competitive matches and has impressed during this period, even earning his first France call up in November last year.

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When speaking to Bild, Stuttgart's sporting executive Michael Reschke said: ''From being an exceptional talent, Benjamin Pavard is definitely on the way to becoming an international top player.

''We are the ideal club for him right now and he feels that. If, in the future, a club from Europe's top 10 shows real interest, we'll sit down. Benjamin and his agent are aware of it.

''But if this summer a club believes they can sign him for €30m, this club is profoundly wrong. We wouldn't even open the door for such a talk.''

Stuttgart currently sit 10th in the Bundesliga table, and Pavard will be wary of a move elsewhere due to the risk of limited first team chances.

At his current club, Pavard is one of the first names on the team sheet and is much more likely to continue his development if he is playing regular football.