Report: Juventus Joins Growing List of Suitors for Benjamin Pavard
Juventus are the latest side to register their interest in Stuttgart's French defender Benjamin Pavard, who showcased some fantastic performances on the way to lifting the World Cup this summer.
The 22-year-old was one of France's standout performers throughout the tournament, featuring in all but one of his side's matches. He also netted a phenomenal strike from distance during his side's 4-3 victory over Argentina which was recently nominated for FIFA's Puskas Award.
The link between Juventus and Pavard comes from French outlet Le10Sport, who state that the Frenchman is unlikely to remain at Stuttgart past this season. The report also claims that Pavard is attracting interest from both Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb also report on Pavard's future, adding that Pep Guardiola is keen to bring the defender to Manchester City, meaning that Pavard could be the subject of an intense bidding war in the near future.
Pavard is an incredibly versatile defender who is comfortable in several different positions. He was deployed as a right back for France, but features predominantly at centre back for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.
Juventus have recently acquired Joao Cancelo at right back, meaning they may be more interested in using Pavard in a central role. Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Medhi Benatia are all over 30 years old, meaning Juventus may be keen to add some youth to their defensive options.
However, their ability to compete with the rest of Europe's elite on a financial level is certainly doubtful following their monumental acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.
The spending power of the likes of Manchester City and Barcelona is well known, whilst Bayern Munich often seem to possess an undeniable attraction to many promising talents in the Bundesliga.
It seems incredibly unlikely that Pavard will remain with Stuttgart for much longer and, with such strong interest from Europe's elite, he could certainly be the subject of the next huge transfer saga.
