Manchester United, PSG Reportedly Interested in Jerome Boateng Transfer

Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly tracking Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng.

According to Kicker (h/t Mark Lovell of ESPN), the two European giants have an interest in the Germany international:

Goal reported the German champions remain confident Boateng will stay at the Allianz Arena despite the interest.

Kicker (h/t Goal) said Bayern may only entertain offers between €50 million (£45 million) and €60 million (£54 million) for the defender.

Speaking about the player after Bayern's 3-1 win over PSG in pre-season, new Munich manager Nico Kovac said he expects Boateng to still be part of his squad for the upcoming campaign.

"I know Jerome quite well and I'm confident that he will stay with Bayern," he said, per Ryan Benson of Goal. "I know that Thomas [Tuchel] is still looking for one or two good players, maybe he will look at us, but it will not be easy to get our players."

As Benson noted, the Bayern man hinted in May that after seven years with the Bavarian giants he would potentially be open to a new challenge.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

In the summer, the defender did appear in need of a spark. While Germany struggled overall at the FIFA World Cup, the 29-year-old was a long way short of the immaculate standards he has set down the years, as he was laboured on the ball and lacked concentration in his defensive play.

Sachin Nakrani of the Guardian was far from impressed with what he witnessed from the former Manchester City man:

In a functioning outfit like Bayern, Boateng has shown he can still be a force for good at the base of the team.

He is physical in his play, intelligent in his positioning and often an important distributor from the back. During his time at Bayern, he has also developed into a crucial leader and has been vital to them winning six Bundesliga titles and the UEFA Champions League in 2013.

His influence has started to dwindle in recent years, particularly due to injury problems. Bayern have the impressive Niklas Sule pushing for more frequent football, too.

Dominic King of the Daily Mail said he has doubts about what Boateng can bring at this stage of his career:

Both PSG and United would benefit from making additions at centre-back. The former remain reliant on Thiago Silva despite his advancing years and would benefit from more support for Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe. United, meanwhile, have yet to settle on a secure defensive duo under Jose Mourinho.

Even so, parting with the kind of money mentioned for Boateng, given he appears to be on a downward curve in his career and struggling regularly with knocks, would represent a major gamble.