The speculation ends: Bayern Munich has signed Benjamin Pavard
- Chuck Smith
- Jan 9, 2019
- 1 min read
Ending months of speculation, Bayern Munich announced this morning that it has activated the release clause on VfB Stuttgart defender Benjamin Pavard, who will join the Bavarians on July 1, 2019.
The move was a long time coming for the 22-year old, who won the 2018 World Cup with France. After months of both parties skirting around the subject, Bayern dropped the news at sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić's press conference this morning at the club's training camp in Doha Qatar.
The move had been speculated for months dating back to last spring. Bayern, of course, is excited to bring in such a talent. The fee is rumored to be approximately €35M. Salihamidžić did not hold back when touting the club's work to bring in the defender per the club website:
"He is a young player and world champion. We are very happy and proud that we could win such a player for FC Bayern."
Where Pavard fits in from here is interesting. Does he slide into the center back rotation with Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, and Niklas Sule (should they all remain with Bayern through next summer) or will he be slotted to play right back, like he did for France last summer, allowing Joshua Kimmich to move to a central midfield role?
Pavard could also be viewed as a depth player for both positions, though Bayern is not necessarily known for paying €35M for players, who won't be regulars.
Next up for Bayern is seeing if it can secure Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi.
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