Swindon's Louie Barry celebrates scoring his sides first goal with team-mates Swindon's Harry McKirdy and Swindon's Josh Davison and Swindon's Jonathan Williams during the match between Swindon Town and Forest Green Rovers at The County Ground Stadium , Swindon, on Tuesday the 26th of April 2022. The EFL League Two, Photo by Rob Noyes.
Former Swindon Town Player Drawing Championship And European Interest
Former Swindon Town loanee and current Manchester United goalkeeper Matej Kovar is attracting interest from Championship side Hull City, as well as Serbian outfit Red Star Belgrade, according to journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon.
The 23-year-old Czech shot-stopper, who spent the first half of the 20/21 season on loan at The Robins who were in League One at the time, is expected to depart Old Trafford this summer, with Hull City and Red Star Belgrade set to battle it out for his signature.
The Tigers, who finished 15th in the second tier last season, are keen to make a move to sign the goalkeeper on a loan deal but with The Red Devils willing to let the goalkeeper leave, the club may also consider bringing Kovar in on a permanent deal.
As for Red Star Belgrade, who went invincible as they clinched the title in the Serbian SuperLiga last season, they are looking at a serious offer to bring the 23-year-old to the club.
This comes after Sparta Prague, the team in which Kovar was on loan at last season, wanted to sign him on a permanent deal, but are unwilling to match Manchester United’s valuation as they think it’s higher than what they initially wanted to pay.
Kovar made the temporary switch to Swindon in 2020 when the club were plying their trade in League One, making 18 appearances for the club in all competitions, only keeping one clean sheet before being recalled in January, ending his season-long loan at The County Ground early.
The goalkeeper also had a spell at Burton Albion for the second half of the 2021/22 season on loan from the Premier League giants, going on to make six appearances for The Brewers and keeping four clean sheets during his short stint at The Pirelli Stadium.
Writer’s View
Matej Kovar probably didn’t have the best of times at Swindon, although in his defence, he was part of a struggling side that ended up going back down to League Two that season, conceding 89 goals in the process.
In saying that, it has been a good couple of years for Kovar, especially during his temporary spell at Sparta Prague, where he was able to keep 11 clean sheets in 32 appearances at the Czech club as they went on to win the Czech First League.
With Hull City’s and Red Star Belgrade’s interest, it’s sure to be a real battle in the race for his signature, with Manchester United willing to let the shot-stopper depart the club this summer. Whoever was to snap him up is adding a decent goalkeeper to their books.
