The Daily Bee (July 20th, 2018): BVB vs Manchester City

• Sky links Pavard to BVB

Yesterday a report from SWR claimed French World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard had already signed a contract with Bayern Munich. The defender could join the Bavarians in 2019 when they could trigger his 35€ million release clause or this summer if they find an agreement with VfB Stuttgart. However according to Sky Sport that report is false, Pavard hasn’t signed anything yet.

Sky confirm Bayern’s interest but claim BVB is also still in the race for Pavard. The young centerback reportedly wants to stay in Germany but also wants guaranteed playing time something he would rather get from Dortmund than Bayern.

It would be quite a feat for BVB to “steal” Pavard away from Bayern but it does not seem very realistic. BVB have already signed Diall and with Akanji, Toprak and Zagadou centerback is not a priority right now. In addition signing him this summer would take a huge financial commitment that Dortmund are probably better off spending on other positions.

• Morata chooses Milan

Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla reports Alvaro Morata has chosen AC Milan as his preferred destination. This is surprising on a few levels, the Italian club has been punished by UEFA already this off-season and excluded from the Europa League. In addition their now former owner Li Yonghong had to cede control of the club to Elliott Management because he couldn’t pay back his loan.

UPDATE: AC Milan’s ban from the Europa League has been overturned by CAS today. They will be allowed to participate.

However all of this somehow doesn’t prevent them from making another big money move this summer. As far as Morata’s choice goes it’s possible he just prefers to play in Italy rather than Germany or BVB never actually made a substantial offer. Nonetheless Dortmund will have to look elsewhere for a striker this summer.

• BVB made an offer for Caldara (gianlucadimarzio.com)

Quite surprisingly Borussia Dortmund are linked to yet another centerback. According to gianlucadimarzio.com Borussia Dortmund have made an offer of 35€ million + 5€ million in bonuses for the 24-year-old defender. However the report is not clear when exactly BVB made this supposed offer, it could have been before the black and yellows acquired Diallo. At this point signing another CB seems redundant except if BVB move to a three-man backline.

Daily Buzz: Today BVB will play their first friendly in the USA against Manchester City. What do you expect from the game, do you think we’ll see the 4-4-2 again?