According to a report from journalist Loïc Tanzi, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, Inter Milan had made contact with Bayern Munich earlier today in order to sign defender Benjamin Pavard.
Pavard’s desire to leave Munich has been a very open secret and his desire to play at center-back has been even more apparent, even though Bayern Munich deploy him on the right side of the defense. So, when Inter Milan reportedly offered him a spot as a center-back in order to replace the imminently departing Milan Skriniar (who is likely off to Paris Saint-Germain), it is likely that Pavard will have appreciated that a lot.
Tanzi reports that the talks lasted for several hours, as Inter Milan offered to loan Pavard in with an option to buy, but eventually Bayern rejected this offer. The reason is, for now, unclear. Is it because Bayern’s defense is still rather short on depth despite the additions of João Cancelo and Daley Blind this month? Was there simply not enough time to complete the deal? Was Inter’s offer for Pavard not good enough? Does Bayern want to retain the Frenchman long term?
Or perhaps Bayern did not want to strengthen Paris Saint Germain. If Pavard had been sold to Inter Milan, the above report mentioned that Skriniar would have likely transferred to PSG, now that Inter had found a replacement. Obviously, that would not have been great for Bayern. After all, Bayern will face the Parisian giants in the Champions League in just two weeks’ time and strengthening their direct competitors makes little sense. And by blocking the Pavard move, the Skriniar move seems to have fallen through as well.
Regardless, Pavard will now have to refocus on Bayern Munich and see out the current season in Bavarian red. Then the summer transfer window opens and rumors of a move will intensify again.