Altay Bayindir will play in goal for Manchester United[1] in Sunday’s Etihad derby ahead of new signing Senne Lammens.
Despite Lammens’ £21.7million move from Antwerp, Ruben Amorim[2] confirmed that Bayindir will keep his place after starting United’s three other Premier League[3] games this season against Arsenal[4], Fulham[5] and Burnley[6].
The head coach said the two keepers will battle it out for the No.1 spot following Andre Onana[7]’s loan move to Trabzonspor, with 23-year-old Lammens coming in to compete with Bayindir but also as United’s first-choice in the long-term.
‘Altay is going to continue,’ said Amorim. ‘Because it’s a different league, it’s a different country, different training, different goal (for Lammens). So we will try to maintain that and they will fight for the position.
‘So for me, for this game, it’s clear that Altay is there. So we believe a lot in our goalkeepers. I believe in Altay, he’s ready to play.’
United opted for Lammens instead of a more experienced keeper in Emi Martinez, who was keen to move to Old Trafford from Aston Villa[8].
Altay Bayindir will continue in goal for Man United when they face rivals Man City on Sunday
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Deadline day £21.7m signing Senne Lammens will have to bide his time before starting
Ruben Amorim has claimed that Bayindir and Lammens ‘will fight for the position’ to be No.1
United inquired about the possibility of a loan and considered making him part of Jadon Sancho’s move to Villa Park, but in the end chose Lammens who only established himself as Antwerp’s first-choice last season and has yet to make his senior international debut for Belgium.
Amorim added: ‘Sometimes you as a club try to see different options. Sometimes you are able to do one option or another.
‘We have an option that can give us different things in the moment, but also we have a great potential to be our goalkeeper for a lot of years. So that was our choice in the end.
‘I know that we are in the moment that the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience. But we are also in the moment that we have to look at the present, but also with a focus on the future. So it’s a little bit both. A guy with a great potential, that is one more option to play.’
Amorim also confirmed that Matheus Cunha, Mason Mount and Diogo Dalot have been ruled out of the clash with Manchester City after sustaining injuries in the 3-2 win over Burnley before the international break.
Cunha was hopeful of recovering from a hamstring strain, but Amorim said: ‘They are out for this game. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. We need that guys to be a very, very competitive team. We have very good players that are eager to play. So we will be competitive on Sunday.
‘I don’t want to say (how long they will be out) because if you talk with Cunha, if you catch Cunha outside, he will say that he can play this game. So I don’t know. We will manage day by day. But they are pushing really hard.’
Amorim believes United are better team than the one that beat City 2-1 at the Etihad last season, but isn’t putting too much stock by them being above their neighbours in the table at this early stage of the season.
United will also be without Matheus Cunha after he picked up a hamstring injury against Burnley
‘It’s a top team with the best coach in the league – team that is really hard to imagine how they are going to play,’ he warned.
‘They change all the time, but we are prepared for that. And we believe in our team. And I have that feeling, so it will be a very good game.
‘We know what to do. We have one more training. The table, in the moment, it doesn’t matter. I’m just worried about maintaining the same principles. The way we fight for every ball. The small details that sometimes we drop a little bit. Not in these games.
‘So I’m more comfortable in these kind of games. But we will be ready against a very, very good team.’
References
- ^ Manchester United (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Ruben Amorim (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Premier League (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Arsenal (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Fulham (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Burnley (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Andre Onana (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Aston Villa (www.dailymail.co.uk)