Man United in race with Man City to sign ‘amazing’ midfielder likened to Michael Carrick
Manchester United welcome Sunderland to Old Trafford on Saturday with their sights set on regaining form ahead of the international break.
Meanwhile, their city rivals will head to West London to take on Brentford in the Premier League, with Manchester City beating Burnley last time out.
A loss to Sunderland could see Man United sack Ruben Amorim, with the North West side still failing to string a consistent run of form together
Should Amorim get sacked, Michael Carrick has been linked to Man United, with the former midfielder apparently set to take over from the Portuguese head coach.
Man United and Man City set to battle for Aleksandar Pavlovic’s signature
A player whom Carrick was once likened to looks set to be on Man United and Man City’s January wishlist.
Bayern Munich midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic is reportedly a target of both Manchester clubs, according to BILD.
Speaking on BILD’s CaughtOffside podcast, reporters Christian Falk and Tobias Altschaffl discussed a potential move for the Croatian.
Falk asked: “CaughtOffside reports that Juventus Turin, Paris, Manchester United, and Manchester City have Pavlovic on their list? Is that true or not true?”
Altschaffl said: “With Juventus and PSG, there hasn’t been a lot of movement, but the English sides are absolutely interested.
“It’s known that Pavlovic’s side was approached through intermediaries. They would like to sign Pavlovic. At City, he’s even higher on their list.
“I’ve noticed recently that he’s getting better physically, and he has a certain confidence in his game. His services would be in high demand in England. A transfer is currently out of the question for him, but he’s a hot prospect for the Premier League in the future.”
Pavlovic likened to Michael Carrick
Following Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over Lazio in the Champions League round of 16 in the 2023-24 season, Pavlovic was compared to former Man United midfielder Carrick by Owen Hargreaves.
Hargreaves spoke on TNT Sports, saying: “He had a brilliant impact, [Joshua] Kimmich is probably one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, and he’s been pushed out to right back because [Thomas] Tuchel wanted a different profile in there.
“Pavlovic gave it to him, in a way, he’s playing in that [Sergio] Busquets, Michael Carrick role, and it’s the way he passes the ball. Beautifully all game, calmly, composed, constantly checking his shoulder,” Hargreaves continued.
“He barely made a mistake in the whole game, I mean, you look, and he made 97 touches, the third most in the game, and it’s just an amazing touch map, it almost looks like a drawing or something, it’s amazing.”
As Man United’s midfield issues continue, and Man City look for an option to deputise for Rodri, who is still recovering from injury, Pavlovic serves both sides’ needs exceptionally.