Pavard questioned his future at Bayern amid transfer interest

French international Benjamin Pavard might have left Bayern Munich during the last transfer window, if not for a conversation with Julian Nagelsmann.

Pavard helped France win the World Cup in 2018 and joined Bayern from fellow Bundesliga club Stuttgart a year later.

The versatile defender, who can play at centre-back or full-back, has been a regular at the Bundesliga champions and, if fit, will likely make it into Didier's France squad Deschamps for the World Cup in Qatar.

Pavard has featured eight times in all competitions for Bayern this season, scoring twice, but with Bayern signing right-back Noussair Mazraoui and centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, he has revealed that he was about to leave the club, and might well have done otherwise for Nagelsmann.

"I questioned myself, I had calls from different clubs with my agent," the 26-year-old said in an interview with Telefoot.

"After I spoke with the Bayern coach, we have a good relationship.

"He made me realize that I was in his plans, that I was important to the team."

Pavard, however, hasn't closed the door on leaving Munich as his contract expires at the end of the season.

"Maybe one day I will go to one of these clubs, you never know what the future holds," added Pavard, who is said to be of interest to Premier League sides Manchester United and Chelsea .

"I have [another] year at Bayern Munich. After that, we have time to decide."

Bayern have had a poor start to the season by their standards, as they aim to win the Bundesliga for a record 11th successive campaign.

Despite beating Barcelona to win two in as many Champions League games, they lost 1-0 to Bavarian neighbors Augsburg on Saturday, a loss that came after three successive Bundesliga draws.