On the deadline of the summer transfer window, Martin Dúbravka arrived at Manchester United on a season-long loan deal from Newcastle United.
The Slovakia international was able to get ahead of Tom Heaton to become the Red Devils’ second choice goalkeeper, behind David de Gea.
He has made two appearances this season and both of them came in Manchester United’s EFL Cup wins over Aston Villa and Burnley.
Dúbravka first arrived in England when Newcastle United sign him for Sparta Prague in January 2018. Earlier in his career, the 33-year-old spent two years in Denmark between 2014 and 2016 with Esbjerg fB.
Jonas Dal Andersen was one of the managers the stopper played under at Esbjerg. The now sporting director has now expressed his delight over Dúbravka’s move to Manchester United.
“No way possible. Not in the least. It’s actually not so much because of the time I worked with him, but actually because of the period before I came to Esbjerg. When we played him, we had Dúbravka up in the tactics meetings, that it was one of the places that we could hit them,” Jonas Dal Andersen told Tipsbladet.
“Even before I changed, they were in the process of making the transition to [Jeppe] Højbjerg, who was loaned to Fredericia. The plan was for him to return home to Esbjerg, and then he would be in the first team.”
“At the same time, Dúbravka had been promised that he would continue in his career. So, it was a perfect fit. Dúbravka couldn’t really get anywhere as no one cared to have him at the time.”
Taking Dúbravka past performances into account, Jonas Dal Andersen now admits he did not even consider the Slovakian would one day end up playing for Newcastle United and Manchester United.
“I think the same people who couldn’t see the light in him had seen the same matches that I had seen as Hobro coach. He did not save points for Esbjerg, so it was not written anywhere in the sun, moon and stars that he would be the Newcastle keeper in a few years, and now starts for Manchester United,” the Dane explained.
“I didn’t see that coming. It is a very happy story that he believes so much in his own abilities that he manages to play himself up from where he was.”
