At the start of this year, Matej Kovar made a deadline day move to Burton Albion on loan. The Manchester United youngster signed as a back-up, and had to wait two months until his first appearance.
Now on his latest loan, Kovar has not had to wait at all to make his debut for his new club, Sparta Prague.
Kovar sealed a switch to Sparta Prague on Thursday, ahead of the Czech transfer deadline.
He became the 12th player to leave Manchester United on loan this summer.
READ MORE: Confirmed Manchester United transfers, ins, outs, loans, releases for 2022/23
Kovar makes Sparta Prague debut
Kovar went straight into the Sparta Prague starting line up for their weekend fixture, wasting no time at all.
The young goalkeeper played all 90 minutes as third placed Sparta took on ninth ranked Teplice away from home.
There was no dream clean sheet for Kovar on his debut, however. Sparta raced into a 2-0 lead inside the first 40 minutes but were eventually pegged back, drawing the game 2-2.
Kovar made two saves, and also picked up a booking for a collision outside the penalty box in the first half.
But the real downer was Teplice’s 83rd minute equaliser, which Kovar took responsibility for after his throw out to Casper Hojer was intercepted.
Kovar told Sport.cz: “That’s not how I imagined the first match. I take the second goal on myself, it passed between me and Casper.
“I was nervous, but the boys helped me, I went to the pitch with a clear head. Seven minutes before the end, it was naive on my part. I should have kept the ball, driven the boys forward.”
Kovar gets backing
The good news is Kovar has the backing of his manager Brian Priske, who believes the Manchester United loanee will stay as his number one.
He also admits that throwing the 22-year-old straight into the starting line-up two days after signing, was not the easiest situation.
Priske told Sport.cz: “He is an excellent goalkeeper with a great future.
“We brought him in in the last minutes of the transfer window with the sole intention of playing. We made such a move because we are convinced that he is a better goalkeeper than the ones we have had so far.
“It is clear that he did not have optimal conditions for the first match.”
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