Opinion: Why Manchester United player’s potential move to Sunderland is bad for all parties | OneFootball

Sunderland are believed to be interested in taking Manchester United shot-stopper Matej Kovar on loan, according to a report from The Sun.

The 22-year-old, however, may only be let go by the Premier League side if they recruit a new second-choice goalkeeper, something that’s understandable considering Dean Henderson is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest and Lee Grant has retired.

Tom Heaton may be available as well, but we would ideally be a third-choice option like Scott Carson is at arch-rivals Manchester City.

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And it doesn’t seem as though Kovar is fancied as a backup stopper to David de Gea at this stage, with a potential move to the Stadium of Light on the horizon.

The chance to play in front of a big home crowd is probably an attractive one for the Czech keeper – and it’s an opportunity for him to make a step up from where he was last season when he plied his trade at Burton Albion briefly.

He certainly has a real chance to climb above Alex Bass in the pecking order – but the one downside of this move is the fact he isn’t guaranteed to win regular game minutes on Wearside.

The 22-year-old may have a good chance of pushing Anthony Patterson all the way for a starting spot – but unless their current first-choice shot-stopper makes a series of bad errors – the Cats may want to develop their own young keeper as opposed to United’s.

That will probably work against Kovar in his quest to get as many starts under his belt as possible – and with that – there’s a real chance this potential loan deal won’t help him to develop.

That’s bad news for Erik ten Hag’s side, who may feel he has a real chance of becoming their second-choice shot-stopper for the 2023/24 campaign and potentially beyond if he shines in the second tier.

After all, the Red Devils have targeted the likes of Daniel Bachmann and Tim Krul this summer, both of whom currently ply their trade in the Championship.

And it seems Dean Henderson wants as much game time as possible, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him move on permanently next summer, increasing the importance of Kovar to United’s cause at Old Trafford.

Sending him out on loan to a club where he is guaranteed a starting spot would be more beneficial for the top-tier side because of this.

And looking at this possible deal from the Black Cats’ perspective, they ideally need an older head to provide a good mix of youth and experience in their goalkeeping department.

Bass may be slightly older than Patterson at 24 – but he hasn’t played in the second tier at all and this is where someone like Keiren Westwood could come in and bolster this department if the former Republic of Ireland international is content with sitting on the sidelines and acting as a backup.