Manchester United’s pre-season gave many players on the fringes of the team a chance to make an impression and some took it well.
Toby Collyer can now be considered a proper first-teamer, while Ethan Wheatley has also been promoted to the senior team.
Radek Vitek, who was head and shoulders above any player on the pitch in the very first friendly against Rosenborg, has also generated excitement.
Vitek has been compared to Peter Schmeichel, a high praise if there ever was any, and after his loan at Accrington last season, made it certain that he had already outgrown that level of competition.
United have now made a decision on his future for this season.
Man United make Radek Vitek decision
After impressing in League Two last season, there was no way he was going back to that level, while his comfort in senior football ensured that United would hinder his development if they kept him with the U21s.
Considering his talent and potential, a challenging loan move was needed that gave Vitek the chance to hone his skills at a higher level.
The club and the player seem to have found it away from England, in Austria, with BW Linz.
Manchester World reports that Radek Vitek is set to join BW Linz on a season-long loan move from Manchester United.
Vitek is expected to be challenged heavily as Linz got promoted to the top tier in Austria just last season and salvaged their status.
They have started this season with one draw, one win, and one loss in three games so Vitek will face plenty of shots and be asked to do a lot for his team.
Austrian Bundesliga has powerhouses like RB Salzburg so the standard of the league is ever-improving, with teams like Austria Wien, Sturm Graz, and LASK providing good competition.
It would be a surprise if Vitek doesn’t go into the team as the first-choice goalkeeper.
Expectation from Vitek
The expectation from Vitek will be that he consolidates his first-choice spot with good performances and helps keep BW Linz in the first division.
His shot-stopping skills were on display clearly vs Rosenborg, and he will also get the chance to flex his ball-playing skills in Linz’s progressive system.
This might seem like a left-field move, but if the style of football is a fit and there is the promise of plenty of minutes, then it makes no sense to reject it in favour of restricting the player to just playing in England.
Moreover, Vitek is not English, he is Czech, so the acclimatisation to playing abroad should be easier than it would be for an English player.
Vitek is undoubtedly one to watch for United’s future goalkeeping prospects because if he continues to impress the same way, an opportunity could come knocking.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
