Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has confirmed Altay Bayindir will start in goal for Sunday’s clash against Manchester City at the Etihad.
The Red Devils take on Pep Guardiola’s side this weekend in the latest Manchester derby but new goalkeeper Senne Lammens won’t be in the XI.
United signed Lammens from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth around £18.2m plus add-ons on deadline day in the summer transfer window.
Lammens is expected to become United’s new No.1 goalkeeper after the club offloaded Andre Onana to Turkish club Trabzonspor on loan.
But Lammens won’t start in the Manchester derby, United head coach Amorim announced in a press conference on Friday.
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Quizzed if Bayindir would start in goal against City, Amorim said: ‘Yeah.
‘It is the same thing I do with different positions – but Altay is going to continue.
‘It is a different league, different country, different training, different ball [for Lammens]. So they will fight for the position. I believe in Altay, he is ready to play.’
Bayindir made an error in United’s Premier League opener against Arsenal this season and has generally looked somewhat shaky in goal.
Meanwhile, no goalkeeper made more saves in Europe’s top 10 leagues last season than Lammens and he had one of the highest goals-prevented metrics in Europe.
The Belgian also made the most progressive passes for any goalkeeper under the age of 23.
Asked why United signed Lammens, Amorim added: ‘Sometimes you as a club you try to see different options, one or another.
‘We have an option that can give us different things in the moment, but also has a great potential to be our goalkeeper for a number of years.
‘We are really pleased, he is a goalkeeper with a lot of potential. We are in the moment that the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience, but we also have to look at the present with a focus on the future so it is a bit of both. He will be ready.’
Speaking about Onana’s exit, Amorim continued: ‘I think as a club, we understood it needed a change.
‘Sometimes it’s hard to point why – the performance, the moment, the bad luck in some moments was hard on him.
‘Our thinking was to have a change with the goalkeepers, but I wish the best with Andre Onana.
‘He was really good at working and helping the players. But sometimes you need to change the environment.’