2.5 aerial duels, 11 clearances – Signing this World Champion could make Man City’s defence unbreachable

Signing Benjamin Pavard would provide Man City with depth at the back

Pep Guardiola is a man with an ambition and there’s no doubt the Manchester City manager will be aiming to defend the Premier League title.

The Champions have started the season in good form as well, dropping just 2 points from their opening 5 games of the season. Though the Cityzens are yet to hit full throttle this season, they are very much a fierce competition for any side in Europe.

Pep Guardiola did endure a relatively quiet transfer window compared to the previous one which saw the manager overhaul is entire defence. But the club have now been linked with another defender in the form of Benjamin Pavard.

According to The Sun, Manchester City are interested in acquiring the Frenchman’s services after his excellent performance at the World Cup. Pavard would be a great addition to his Manchester City side who seem to be getting better with time.

The French defender is a perfect Guardiola-type player. He is comfortable on the ball and can play in a wide number of positions. Pavard was deployed as a right-back by Didier Deschamps in Russia but the 22-year-old is a centre-back.

He is defensively sound and knows exactly when to time his runs to support the attack. He averaged 1.3 successful aerial duels at the World Cup and proved to be a hard man to beat. He is also a neat passer of the ball, averaging a pass success rate of 80.1% in Russia. (Stats Courtesy – Whoscored)

Pavard has made 2 appearances for his club VfB Stuttgart this season and has put in excellent shifts in both games. He has averaged 2.5 aerial duels and 11 clearances per game so far. Manchester City currently play with three at the back given that Kyle Walker has been shifted to more of a third centre-back role this season. (Stats Courtesy – Whoscored)

The arrival of Benjamin Pavard would provide Pep Guardiola with even more options and formations to deploy. Danilo is the only other right-back to challenge Walker and Pavard will provide a healthy selection headache.

He is comfortable with the ball at his feet and is very calm under pressure as well, which is the type of trait Guardiola loves in his defenders.

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As the transfer window reopens in January, Guardiola should definitely make the move for the talented young defender. According to the Sun, Pavard is also attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich but Manchester City should aim to snap him up before the others big clubs do.