Manchester United have had some issues at goalkeeper this season and one former academy talent might have been able to provide a solution.
Manchester United spent £43 million to sign Andre Onana last summer and a further £5 million to acquire Altay Bayindir.
It was an expense Erik ten Hag felt like he had to make, after deciding to release veteran David de Gea, who is still currently without a club.
In the process he also let Matej Kovar go too, deciding the young goalkeeper was not ready to be number one, and United cashed in, selling him to Bayer Leverkusen for £7.7 million.
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Matej Kovar makes Bundesliga debut
Matej Kovar won the Czech league title on loan at Sparta Prague last season and he has a chance to follow this up with the Bundesliga title at Bayer Leverkusen.
Until now, Kovar has been on the bench in league games for Leverkusen, backing up Lukas Hradecky.
Hradecky is 34, so Kovar could see a simpler path to the first team there than backing up Onana at United, who is 27.
Kovar, 23, has played in cup games for Leverkusen this season, five times in the Europa League and twice in the German Cup. He has three clean sheets in those games.
This past weekend he kept a clean sheet on his Bundesliga debut, although it was not an entirely satisfactory day for his side, who could only draw 0-0 at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach. But Kovar did his job.
He made the two saves required of him, and also completed 100 per cent of his passes.
Kovar’s competence is unsurprising. He was excellent in Manchester United’s early pre-season games against Lyon and Leeds, leading to some fans wondering why not simply promote him as number one.
Asked about Kovar after the game, manager Xabi Alonso explained why he was selected, and did say Hradecky is expected to return shortly.
He said, via Sport1: “The idea was to give him playing time so he would have a better feeling in the cup game
“Lukas is back in goal against Darmstadt. Both are at a top level, we have healthy competition in this position.”
Manchester United have buy-back clause
Manchester United’s decision to sell Matej Kovar was not made in totally reckless fashion.
The deal has included a buy-back clause, according to a report from Czech outlet Infotbal. It is also reported United have a first option agreement on Kovar.
This gives United some say over his future. But for now, Kovar looks happy in Germany. He wrote on Instagram after his league debut: “Night to remember💫 thank you for all you support 🤝🏻❤️.”