Football365
·29 August 2023
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·29 August 2023
Fred in action for Fenerbahce.
Ex-Manchester United midfielder Fred has seemingly confirmed that his former club are set to sign Fenerbahce goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
The Red Devils have spent over £150m to sign Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund this summer but they still have business to do before the transfer window closes on Friday night.
Club legend Gary Neville has indicated that United will be “under real pressure” if they do not sign a new left-back and centre-midfielder in the coming days.
Man Utd are also in the market for a new goalkeeper. They need to recruit a new backup for Onana with it looking increasingly likely that Dean Henderson will sign for Premier League rivals Crystal Palace.
It was revealed last month that Bayindir – who is rated at £5m – has emerged as a ‘shock target’ for Man Utd.
The 25-year-old has made just short of 150 appearances for Fenerbahce since the start of the 2019/20 campaign and he’s earned five senior caps for Turkey.
The shot-stopper has recently been joined at Fenerbahce by former United midfielder Fred, who has indicated to reporters in Turkey that Bayindir is “going to be very happy at Man Utd”.
“I wished Altay good luck when he left,” Fred told reporters.
“He’s going to a great team. I gave him some suggestions about places where he could live and I told him it rains a lot! I think Altay is going to be very happy at Manchester United.”
It has recently been claimed by Dutch journalist Rian Rosendaal that Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag is “obsessed” with Bayindir, who is a “young and developing goalkeeper”.
“Ten Hag personally likes Altay very much because he’s a young and developing goalkeeper. He’s only 25 and has a tall physique as a goalkeeper. Being 1.98m is a great advantage,” Rosendaal told Fanatik’s Ethem Sündük.
“The most important feature Ten Hag likes is that Altay uses his feet. Altay can use his feet more effectively… This seems to have greatly influenced the Dutch coach. Ten Hag is obsessed with him. He is also aware that he can get efficiency from Altay for a long time…”
Man Utd have six points from their opening three Premier League games of the new 2023/24 campaign but they have struggled against Wolves, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest.
They are understood to have their eyes on several Premier League stars as alternative targets, with Rico Henry, Marc Cucurella and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg among the players they are being linked with.