Manchester United goalkeeper Matej Kovar is on the verge of a permanent transfer away from the club as he undergoes a medical with Bayer Leverkusen, sources have confirmed to 90min.
Now 23, Kovar has been with United since the age of 17. He joined from home-town club Solvacko in 2018 and has been loaned out to Swindon Town, Burton Albion and Sparta Prague during that time.
It was his loan at Sparta last season that brought Kovar to wider attention. It was his very first year as a top flight starter and he helped the club win the Czech First League and return to the Champions League qualifying rounds.
90min reported in May that Kovar’s form on loan had caught the eye of his parent club. There were glowing reviews coming back from Prague and he was included in the thought process regarding the goalkeeping position long before Andre Onana was eventually signed.
At a time when David de Gea was widely expected to sign a new contract at Old Trafford, United staff considered the possibility that Kovar could emerge as the Spaniard’s chief back-up and limit the need to spend big on a new goalkeeper.
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However, De Gea’s contract offer was later withdrawn and revised, ultimately leading to him leaving the club as a free agent. It accelerated the need for a readymade number one and so the club spent handsomely to sign Onana from Inter, reuniting the Cameroonian with Erik ten Hag.
Kovar was briefly involved in United’s pre-season programme, playing 135 minutes of the opening two summer friendlies against Leeds and Lyon. But his immediate future now lies elsewhere.
90min understands that a £7.8m (€9m) transfer fee has been agreed with Bayer Leverkusen and that a medical to complete the transfer is already being undertaken. Ties with Kovar have not been fully cut though, as United have retained a buy-back clause that could see him return to Manchester.
Leverkusen finished sixth in the Bundesliga last season following a remarkable turnaround once Xabi Alonso was appointed head coach, having been flirting with relegation initially. It means that Kovar could have the chance to play Europa League football in 2023/24. He will compete with veteran Finland international and current Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky.
United have extensively recruited emerging Czech goalkeepers in recent years. Kovar himself succeeded Alex Fojticek as youth team number one, while Radek Vitek was included in the first-team squad for this summer’s pre-season tour of America. Ondrej Mastny is also still on the books, having spent the first half of 2023 on loan at Northern Irish club Portadown.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Man Utd goalkeeper undergoing Bayer Leverkusen medical.