Manchester United goalkeeper Matej Kovar is the subject of transfer interest from Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, according to a recent report from the Daily Mail.

Kovar has not travelled with the rest of the team for pre-season. As such, this seems to imply that Erik Ten Hag is keen to offload the towering shot-stopper.

United will command a fee of around £8 million for Kovar to leave the club in the ongoing summer transfer window – as of yet, Villa have not submitted a bid.

Could Matej Kovar break into the Manchester United first team?

Theoretically, Kovar should be in a good position to muscle his way into the United first team, upon the departure of David De Gea and questions surrounding the future of his deputy, Dean Henderson.

However, Ten Hag does not seem to see it this way. As we have already mentioned, Kovar has not travelled with the rest of the squad to partake in pre-season training – this seems to be a clear indication that the Czech ‘keeper does not fit into Ten Hag’s plans.

Should he remain at the club, he would almost definitely play second fiddle to the incoming Andre Onana – but considering the Red Devils’ congested fixture list next season, it would not be surprising to him start in a game or two.

Do United have an issue in the goalkeeper position?

While United do not have a crisis in the goalkeeper department, thanks to the acquisition of Onana, if Kovar leaves the club, the Cameroonian international will be the Red Devils’ only ‘keeper in the senior team.

Of course, United will need more than this. They may want to consider keeping Kovar at the club – if only as backup to Onana, should he suffer an injury or be otherwise unable to play.

However, if Kovar does leave the club (which looks likely at this stage), United will need to sign a backup goalkeeper before the 2023/24 Premier League season kicks off on August 12. Failing this, they will need to dip into their youth ranks for a replacement – or risk starting the season with just one goalkeeper.