Manchester United appear one giant step closer to announcing Altay Bayindir with Fenerbahce confirming that an agreement has been reached with the goalkeeper’s replacement.
Ironically enough, Altay Bayindir’s place between the Fenerbahce sticks will be taken by another goalkeeper who was linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer.
Dominik Livakovic, Croatia’s penalty-saving hero at the Qatar World Cup, is on his way to Istanbul from Dinamo Zagreb. And his arrival will pave the way for Bayindir to put pen to paper with a Manchester United outfit on the lookout for a second-choice shot-stopper as Dean Henderson holds talks with Crystal Palace.
Manchester United near Altay Bayindir deal with Fenerbahce
“To inform; Our club has reached an agreement in principle with Dinamo Zagreb for the transfer of professional football player Dominik Livakovic,” reads a statement posted on Fenerbahce’s official Twitter page.
“The player will come to Istanbul today (Thursday) to pass the medical checks and to negotiate the transfer. We present it to the public.”
Bayindir, meanwhile, has already undergone his own ‘medical checks’ ahead of a life-changing switch to arguably Europe’s biggest club. According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Manchester United are determined to discover the extent of Bayindir’s back injury before they commit themselves to paying up to £6 million for the 25-year-old colossus.
A Dean Henderson replacement
Bayindir, capped five times by Turkey, will provide competition for Andre Onana in Manchester. The £47 million signing from Inter Milan has been one of the few bright sparks in a dreadful start to the new campaign for Erik ten Hag’s men, almost single-handedly keeping Wolves off the scoresheet while showcasing his much-admired passing range in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
“Most important, always for a keeper, is clean sheets,” Ten Hag told the Man United website in July, explaining why he chose Onana following David de Gea’s departure.
MORE UNITED STORIES
“But, nowadays, football also demands good playing from the back, and that is a quality Andre has. You need both, and you need to cover both areas. So yeah, we’re happy (to sign him), of course.
“I think with his physical presence and also with his personality… He is so keen on winning. He’s so, so eager to win trophies and he will help the team.
“He will help the squad to get to higher levels.”