Manchester United have signed Turkish goalkeeper, Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce for an undisclosed fee.
Bayindir’s arrival comes amidst a goalkeeping shake-up at Man Utd, which has seen David De Gea, Dean Henderson, Nathan Bishop, Matej Kovar and Ondrej Mastny all leave the club, whilst Andre Onana has arrived as first-choice goalkeeper.
Following Utd’s decision to sell Henderson, the Red Devils swooped for Bayindir as their new second-choice goalkeeper for a reported £4.3m transfer fee, having fought off competition from Nottingham Forest for the 25 year-old goalkeeper.
Speaking about his decision to join Utd, Bayindir said: “It is a huge honour to join Manchester United and become the first Turkish player to represent this incredible club.
“I have a passion for success, and I will give everything to help this special group of players to achieve our ambitions.
“I cannot wait to start working with such an experienced goalkeeping unit. We will support each other and drive high standards every day so that each of us is ready to perform whenever called upon.”
Utd’s Director of Football, John Murtough added: “Altay is an excellent addition to our squad and adds further quality to our already strong group of experienced goalkeepers.
“Having consistently performed at a high level in a strong European league, he has the qualities to support us in achieving our ambitions across all competitions this season and beyond.”
Bayindir could make his debut for Utd away at Arsenal on Sunday 2 September in a 4:30pm BST kick-off, live on Sky Sports in the UK, although he is more likely to start on the bench unless Andre Onana becomes unavailable in the coming days.
Bayindir began his career with Bursaspor at youth level before he went on to play for Arabayatagispor, Bursa Yolspor and Ankaragücü, where he made his first-team debut and 31 senior appearances in total.
The 25 year-old eventually joined Fenerbahce in July 2019 and quickly established himself as their no.1 goalkeeper, during which he helped them win 2022-23 Turkish Cup after beating Istanbul Basaksehir in the final last season.
Altay Bayındır The Octopus!