Matej Kovar made the brave decision to leave Manchester United this summer with a move to Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen lined up for the youngster.
Erik ten Hag stuck with David De Gea last season with Dean Henderson allowed to move on loan to Nottingham Forest before suffering injury problems during his time at the City Ground with Matej Kovar in the youth setup.
With De Gea’s contract expiring and Henderson on his way to Crystal Palace, however, Kovar was given a chance in pre-season before eventually being allowed to leave for Bayer Leverkusen.
The Czech Republic goalkeeper looked assured during the minutes he had in pre-season and United managed to get around £7 million for the 23-year-old plus a buy-back clause in the deal according to the BBC.
Kovar’s performances in Germany
After signing for Leverkusen, it was unclear whether the goalkeeper would be the first choice for the German side but Kovar’s range of passing made him an attractive option for any progressive side which Xabi Alonso’s side certainly are.
Since his move to Germany, Kovar has featured five times in all competitions with four appearances in the UEFA Europa League and one appearance in the DFB Pokal.
Alonso was full of praise for the Czech goalkeeper after his debut for the German side: “I wanted to see that he could play and that he was ready. And it was important for him that he felt like he could play again. Matej is calm, he can play well.”
Kovar’s calmness
As mentioned by the former Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder, Kovar is certainly calm on the ball and it looked like he could feature for Ten Hag in the competitive season.
However, with the signing of Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana, with Tom Heaton as third choice, United have plenty of goalkeeping options so the decision to let him go was somewhat understandable.
It’s nice to see the young goalkeeper flourishing in Germany and if he continues to perform at a high level then the Red Devils could activate that buyback clause in his contract.