Manchester United’s second-choice goalkeeper Altay Bayindir is reportedly now set to stay at the club following his stellar performance against Arsenal on Sunday.
Bayindir has found playing time extremely hard to come by following his £4.3m move to the club in the summer of 2023.
Andre Onana has been United’s undisputed number one, limiting Bayindir to just a few Carabao Cup games and the single FA Cup appearance he made last weekend.
However, the Turkey international was the Red Devils’ hero at the Emirates as they beat Arsenal on penalties to dump them out of the competition and advance to the fourth round, where they will face Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City.
Bayindir faced criticism in December after conceding directly from Son Heung-Min’s 88th-minute corner during United’s heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
But just one month later, after the final whistle vs. the Gunners, Ruben Amorim branded him as “our hero” for his valiant efforts between the sticks.
The 26-year-old produced a brilliant save in the corner to stop Martin Odegaard’s penalty in the 72nd minute, changing the momentum of the match in United’s favour. He also came up with a string of excellent stops that forced the match into extra time and eventually, a penalty shootout.
Bayindir again denied Kai Havertz, making his the only spot-kick missed of the nine taken.
There was a lot of speculation that Bayindir could leave United during the ongoing winter transfer window in search of first-team minutes elsewhere.
It was even suggested that Amorim was not convinced by him and wanted someone new to come in and deputise Onana.
However, it appears that Bayindir is now set to remain at Old Trafford beyond this month.
According to The Daily Mail, “There was a possibility that Bayindir could have left United in search of more first-team football this month, but that now seems unlikely to happen.”
“Altay Bayindir is now unlikely to leave United after his heroics against Arsenal.”
“He will be kept around to provide competition for United No1 Andre Onana.”
Meanwhile, United return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host Southampton.
Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
