Radek Vitek set for loan deal to BW Linz in Austrian Bundesliga | OneFootball

Talented Manchester United academy goalkeeper Radek Vitek is closing in on a move to Austrian side BW Linz on a loan deal.

Vitek joined United from Czech club Sigma Olomouc in April 2020 at the tender age of 16 and was one of a whole team of brilliant young stars snapped up by the Red Devils that summer.

He was joined by Marc Jurado, Alvaro Fernandez Carreras, Logan Pye, Willy Kambwala, Isak Hansen-Aaroen, Amad Diallo, Facu Pellistri, Alejandro Garnacho, Joe Hugill and Charlie McNeill in one of the most successful recruitment drives since the class on ’92.

Most of those have gone on to carve out good careers already, with Amad and Alejandro Garnacho the standouts so far.

Jurado moved to Espanyol, Pye is now at Burnley, Carreras at Benfica, Kambwala at Villarreal, Hansen-Aaroen at Werder Bremen and McNeill at Shrewsbury Town.

Facu Pellistri is close to completing a permanent switch to Panathinaikos while Hugill is also going to be loaned out this season at Wigan.

After a promising 2020/21 season at under-18 level, Vitek was promoted to the Under 21s for the 2021/22 campaign and again acquitted himself well there for two seasons.

A loan deal to Accrington in the second part of last season went well and Vitek then caught the eye in United’s pre-season opener against Rosenborg in July, when we put in a man of the match performance against the Norwegians.

BW Linz have already played three games of their Austrian Bundesliga campaign and could certainly benefit from a good keeper, having shipped seven goals already, including five against Red Bull Salzburg.

It was decided earlier in the summer that Vitek would go out on loan this season and the Austrian league and Linz in particular seems like a good match for him, being just a few miles from the border of his native Czechia.

This has now been confirmed by Italian reporter Luca Bendoni.

A good season in a competitive league could convince United to promote Vitek to the first team squad next season, with veteran Tom Heaton almost certain to hang up his gloves after the current campaign.

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