‘Complete goalkeeper’ has Manchester United ‘at heart’ and could offer transfer solution

Bayindir squandered his latest chance during a dreadful display for United  in the Carabao Cup quarter-final loss to Tottenham last month, and the calls for an upgrade were almost immediate.

Erik ten Hag didn’t trust him to make more than two appearances. He has only made four since his move from Fenerbahce in the summer of 2023. The likelihood of him adding to that number seems slim and United could look to move on from the 26-year-old this month if they can find a potential suitor for the Turkey international.

And one interesting option United could look to pursue is their former goalkeeper Matej Kovar. The 6ft 5in Czech shot-stopper joined United as a teenager in 2018 and enjoyed loan spells at Burton Albion and Sparta Prague.

In the summer of 2023, United accepted a €9million (£7.78m) offer from Leverkusen for Kovar and he signed a four-year deal at the BayArena.

United are believed to have inserted a buy-back clause with a right of first refusal in the deal with Leverkusen, which means he could return to Manchester one day. That day could well be January.

Kovar has proven to be an excellent second choice goalkeeper for Leverkusen. Lukas Hradecky remains Leverkusen’s number one goalkeeper and the club captain.

But when Leverkusen have relied on Kovar, he has not let them down. In his first season in Germany he made 17 appearances in all competitions as he helped Bayer win a Bundesliga title, the DFB Pokal and reach the Europa League final.

This season, he has been relied on seven times and he has got his first taste of Champions League football. He has made a huge impression on Bayer boss Xabi Alonso, too, as he labelled Kovar the ‘complete goalkeeper’.

“He’s complete, he’s intelligent, he’s good with his feet, even better in goal,” Alonso told Kicker “We have to help him develop for the future.

“He showed last season and also in the preparation at Manchester United that he is at a high level. He was ready from the start, trained well and in Cup and also the Europa League showed that he is a good option. He deserves to keep this position.”

Kovar was asked last year by Czech outlet Sport whether he’d had any contact with United, given they have first right of refusal on him, and he said: “No, I have not. It is important for me to start playing regularly and establish a position in Leverkusen. Then, we will see what happens in the future.