Liverpool are believed to have initiated negotiations with German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich for the transfer of Benjamin Pavard this summer.
What's the latest on Benjamin Pavard to Liverpool?
That's according to journalist Christian Falk, who claims – via his Caught Offside column – that Liverpool are in talks with the France international's agent ahead of a prospective transfer.
The BILD reporter said: “Benjamin Pavard has informed the club that he wants to move in the summer.
“His agents are already talking to other clubs. Among them, Liverpool is now a hot candidate. Previously, Chelsea and Barcelona were already known to be interested, as well as Italian clubs AC and Inter Milan.”
With just one year remaining on his current deal, Bayern are willing to let the 27-year-old leave the Allianz Arena for €40m (£34m), and while Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is, undoubtedly, prioritising the midfield, bolstering the defence with a first-rate option such as Pavard is a brilliant move.
Why should Liverpool sign Benjamin Pavard?
The 2018 World Cup winner has enjoyed a most fruitful career in Germany, signing for the Bavarian giants from Stuttgart for about €35m (£30m) in 2018 and going on to win five Bundesliga titles, one DFB Pokal and the Champions League.
Making 162 appearances and posting 12 goals and assists apiece, the 47-cap international was predicted to be an "outstanding signing" by Uli Hoenes and has indeed lived up to the hype by cementing his position in one of Europe's most distinguished and illustrious outfits.
He's the kind of dynamic ace with composure and grit in abundance that Klopp will be craving after standards slipped on Merseyside this season, with the midfield failing to effectively protect the defence and the backline itself too weak and vulnerable – as flimsy as plywood.
Joe Gomez was at the epicentre, with the £85k-per-week Englishman unused for ten of the final 12 Premier League matches of the term and being branded as "finished" by podcaster Graeme Kelly.
One of Gomez's standout traits is his efficacy in both a central defensive role and out wide, as a right back. However, Pavard can do all this and more and has been hailed as a "real talent" with "indispensable versatility" by Thomas Hitzlsperger, often found across the backline and distributing his time evenly from centre to flank this season.
Indeed, as per FBref, the £83k-per-week gem ranks among the top 1% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues for rate of goals, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 1% for progressive passes, the top 9% for progressive carries and the top 6% for tackles per 90.
This underscores his dynamism and while such metrics might be somewhat inflated by the fact he also plies his trade out wide, he is undoubtedly "one of the best" – as also stated by Hoenes – and would enrich Klopp's Liverpool team as they look to bounce back from mediocrity this year.