Pavard dissatisfied with his role – What does the future hold for the Frenchman?

Benjamin Pavard has been one of the surprises of the year. The Frenchman has been delivering top performances since the turn of the new year and has integrated well into Julian Nagelsmann’s system. But Pavard has reportedly shown his first signs of frustration.

Pavard was rumored to be Niklas Süle’s replacement in the defense, considering the fact that he performed well in the back three as a centerback. But when Bayern Munich found out that Matthijs de Ligt was put on Juventus‘ sales list, the club immediately acted and lured the Dutch defender to Munich.

At the same time, the signing of Noussair Mazraoui would mean that Pavard would finally move back to the center defense, a position which he has been wanting to play since he came to Bayern. At the beginning of the 2022/23 season, Pavard was made the first choice right-back above Noussair Mazraoui, the Moroccan defender could not make the breakthrough and was criticized for his training performances.

However, only recently, Mazraoui was chosen as the first choice in Nagelsmann’s lineups. The Moroccan made it to the starting XI twice in a row this time, against Barcelona and Mainz 05, while Pavard sat on the bench. Ultimately, this left a bitter taste in the Frenchman and has shown the first signs of frustration and dissatisfaction.

According to Sky Germany and SPORT1, Benjamin Pavard is not satisfied with his current role at Bayern. Already in the summer, there were talks of Pavard leaving in summer due to the arrival of de Ligt, but the defender ended up staying. The Frenchman’s dissatisfaction has also to do with the fact that Pavard has barely been used as a center-back, his favorite position, despite being planned to do so initially.

Pavard has already communicated his wish to play alongside his compatriot Lucas Hernandez in the defense, one of the main reasons why he considered leaving in the summer, was the guarantees of whether he’d have any place in central defense after de Ligt’s arrival. Since Pavard has ‚temporarily‘ lost his place to Mazraoui and the premises of playing in the center have not been fulfilled, his thoughts of leaving in the summer are increasing.

While Bayern are focused on extending Hernandez’s contract, the club has not approached Pavard nor is currently interested in renewing the contract with the defender, according to SPORT1. Bayern already offered Pavard to numerous clubs in the summer, including those of the English Premier League, namely Manchester United and Chelsea FC.

Pavard enjoys the appreciation of Julian Nagelsmann, while his qualities are not questioned, the coach is having a hard time choosing the right player for the position. Both Mazraoui and Pavard are appreciated by Nagelsmann, but the latter was not impressed with Pavard’s attitude lately in training due to the frustrations.

There is currently no rush from Bayern and Pavard, despite the doubts. The situation will develop further in the coming weeks and it should show a clear picture.