Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink welcomes Matej Kovar on loan to Burton and says he must fight for his place

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The surprise late mover on transfer deadline day was a goalkeeper leaving Manchester United. And it wasn’t Dean Henderson.

Matej Kovar left United on loan to join Burton Albion, after signing a contract extension.

The loan is a good opportunity for Kovar, but he is not guaranteed to play. Instead he has been brought in to challenge.

Ben Garratt is Burton’s first choice and he has seen off a challenge from former United youngster Kieran O’Hara, who is out on loan at Scunthorpe.

Burton boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink told the club website: “Kovar will come in and make life hard for Ben and provide some good competition at the club.

“He will add some great competition, he is a young keeper and we felt like we needed another one in the door.”

So Burton needed reinforcements, with Kovar fitting the bill. If he is going to start, he has to earn it. It’s not a bad message to send out.

Kovar would much prefer to be number one, and have starting opportunities, but he likely did not have a host of options to choose from.

Not having the pressure to go in and perform right away may benefit him. His loan spell before at Swindon last season was mixed when he was thrown straight in, and he can benefit from getting to know the club and his teammates before starting games.

Kovar will want to play, but whatever happens, he is better off for being on loan than with the under-23s, where he has played more than 50 games and has nothing else left to gain.

Being around a first team is important, and if he is going to stand a chance at United one day, he needs to show he can establish himself at Burton first.

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