Manchester United could be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer but one player have played himself out of contention.
Andre Onana has committed a number of high-profile mistakes this season and it’s no surprise to see Manchester United being linked with other goalkeepers.
Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin is the latest name linked with United and this may be a position of real focus this summer.
Reports suggest that Ruben Amorim wants to sign two goalkeepers in order to bring greater competition between the sticks.
United will be tracking the performances of Matej Kovar too, with the potential to bring him back to Old Trafford.
United have a buy-back clause on Kovar having sold him to Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 – but Wednesday was a night for him to forget.
Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Matej Kovar suffers Champions League nightmare
Kovar lined up in goal for Bayer Leverkusen as they met Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich in a Champions League last 16 clash.
This was viewed as being a tight game between two teams who know each other very well, but it ended up being a comfortable victory for Bayern.
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Harry Kane headed Bayern in front before Kovar had the moment of nightmares for any goalkeeper.
Kovar simply had to come off his line and catch a Joshua Kimmich cross towards the back post.
The Czech stopper came out, got his hands to the ball but saw it slip through, handing Jamal Musiala a tap-in.
Leverkusen were then reduced to 10 men as Nordi Mukiele was given his marching orders before Kane added number three, effectively taking the game away from Leverkusen with a second leg still to play.
A 1-0 deficit could have been overhauled but Leverkusen unraveled after Kovar’s costly error, with Xabi Alonso no doubt considering starting veteran Lukas Hradecky instead for the second leg.
United will be watching Kovar very closely with that buy-back clause able to be activated but Wednesday night was not the best showcase of his talent.
The 24-year-old will be distraught with his mistake and the German media have now slammed his mistake.
“Was again preferred over Hradecky on the international stage. But he became the face of failure. Didn’t have a single strong moment on the line. Instead, he gave Bayern their second goal with his blatant mistake. After that, there were wild scenes when he had the ball in his own penalty area,” said Sport as they rated Kovar at five out of 10.
“No chance at 0-1. Even more in the spotlight at 0-2, when he lets a cross from Kimmich fall and Musiala taps it in. Catastrophic mistake (53′). He gets confused every now and then with high balls, once almost dribbles past Kane. A very unfortunate performance from the keeper,” added Ran, who agreed with that five out of 10 rating.
Kovar has only played three Bundesliga games this season but has been picking up starts in the Champions League.
United may look to bring Kovar back down the line but few would be surprised if he spends the rest of the season on the Leverkusen bench after his terrible mistake.