Altay Bayindir has provided some insight into the feeling around Manchester United’s dressing room after a tumultuous start to the term.
The Turkish international is awaiting his maiden outing as a Red since he signed on deadline day last summer to provide coverage to Andre Onana. David de Gea, Dean Henderson, Nathan Bishop and Matej Kovar all departed Old Trafford in the window, so reinforcements were necessary ahead of the current season.
Erik ten Hag has made his unwavering faith in Onana evident since the £47.2 million deal was completed, as the goalkeeper has played every game in all competitions thus far. He even delayed his arrival at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon to ensure he could feature against Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur this month.
Should his country progress to the next stage of the tournament, Bayindir is set to be granted his debut between the sticks in United’s next fixture – a fourth-round FA Cup tie against League Two outfit Newport County, which will take place during the last week of January.
He’s certainly been made to wait long enough to be awarded an appearance, but he’s just relishing the chance to be able to help the team as the squad looks to oversee a significantly better second half of the campaign.
Bayindir lifts lid on dressing room positivity
Speaking via ManUtd.com, Bayindir expressed: “We have good teammates and everyone is positive every day. That’s the most important thing for us. All the goalkeepers, their character is very nice. We are always positive. Of course, we are fighting [to be] on the pitch, because everyone wants to play with the team in the stadium.
“But we have a good energy. It doesn’t matter who is playing, because we will, of course, support them every time. Team spirit is very important, you know? If we are doing this, we can be successful in the game, it’s very important. I think if we’re always doing that, we can always go up.”
“We have very good communication, because we know this is very important for us,” the 25-year-old continued. “We are fighting [to be the best] in the training and when we are going outside, we are best friends. We have a very good energy because, I already said this, it’s very important. Team, spirit, soul. But everyone I think inside has a clear heart. It’s not about just goalkeepers. All players have good heart and we are fighting for this great family always.
“Our position is a little bit different and difficult for us. But if you are doing well, everyone is OK. We are friendly, we are always positive. Everyone wants to play. When we are going out for dinner, we are always together. It’s very good. We will continue with this feeling because we are a very big family.”
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