Radek Vitek enjoyed a breakout performance for Manchester United against Rosenborg, now his comments will be pleasing Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag took a young and second-string squad to Norway on Monday to take on Rosenborg in a pre-season friendly which ended in a 1-0 defeat.
For Manchester United, the result won’t have meant anything as they rarely do in pre-season, but rather it was a chance for Ten Hag to evaluate the fringe players in his squad and the youngsters hoping to get a chance.
Radek Vitek was impressive in goal and will have locked himself in the manager’s mind for the next few friendly games, although Andre Onana will take the No.1 shirt.
Now, the goalkeeper has spoken about the result, and his comments will have resonated well with Ten Hag.
What Radek Vitek said after Manchester United lost to Rosenborg
Following his impressive outing, Vitek was on media duty to discuss the loss and in doing so, said things which would have been music to Ten Hag’s ears – after Ten Hag had already praised the saves of Vitek.
After the game, speaking with MUTV, Vitek showed he has the taken Ten Hag’s ambition and mindset on board.
“We are disappointed as I feel like we should always aim for a win, the manager said we don’t play friendlies as it is in our DNA. We should demand more.
“We are building up now as it is only our first week of pre-season, so we are still waiting for some more boys [to arrive back] from their internationals.
“But as I said, in the end, all that matters is winning.”
Vitek has the winning mentality required at United and referencing the DNA of having no friendlies and wanting to win every game shows he has been listening to Ten Hag.
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Radek Vitek could have two options this summer
An impressive first outing in pre-season likely means Vitek gets minutes this weekend against Rangers in Scotland.
But beyond, the prospects of playing look slim as Altay Bayindir will be returning for pre-season to join Onana. Bayindir could be sold this summer, and in this event, Vitek could be an excellent option for Ten Hag.
Alternatively, Vitek could follow in the footsteps of Matej Kovar who was impressive during pre-season 2023 and used it to secure a move to Bayer Leverkusen.
A few more impressive outings for Kovar could see him achieve the same thing if he isn’t going to get much of a chance for United anyway. With Ineos now doing a good job selling, Vitek could fetch a decent fee.