“Sad that he left” – Director firmly believes Manchester United signing will reach ‘next level’ at Old Trafford

Perhaps one of the more surprising transfers made by Manchester United this window was the one involving Altay Bayindir.

The move was only completed once it was guaranteed that Dean Henderson would no longer be at the club, and the Turkish player arrived as a competitor for André Onana.

Whether he manages to dethrone the Cameroon international remains to be seen, but there are some in Turkey who firmly believe the 25-year-old will improve drastically at Manchester United.

Among those is Volkan Demirel, currently technical director at Hatayspor, who bemoaned the player’s exit from Turkish football all the while praising the goalkeeper for his move.

He said, relayed by TRT Haber: “Altay was an asset for Fenerbahçe. Ugurcan is the same way. Irfan is also doing well. I am happy that Altay has gone to Manchester but sad that he left Fenerbahçe. English football will take him to the next level.”

For those wondering why Demirel was vocal about the player’s transfer to Manchester United, it’s because Bayindir was the one who took over from the now 41-year-old director when he retired from football in 2019 after 17 years with Fenerbahçe.

The two crossed paths ever so briefly at the club, and the now Red Devils goalkeeper wasted no time in stamping his authority on the team, playing 145 times for the Turkish side over the years, conceding 162 goals and keeping 44 clean sheets.