Matej Kovar

Seems sensible. He's still young for a keeper and being our No.2 would do his development no good.
 
More quotes, I translated his interview the best I could.

He wanted to stay in England in the summer, the plan ultimately failed. Sadness? No way... In a few months, Matěj Kovář would be cheering at Sparta with the trophy for the league champion.
"Crazy," the 23-year-old goalkeeper recalls of his recent return to the Czech Republic. "I won the title in the very first season. It's a dream come true for me, I'm happy for it."

After the last match of the competitive year, he spoke about Manchester United and the reason why Sparta are champions after nine years.

How would you describe the last few days?

"It was crazy. After the draw at Slovácko, beautiful celebrations broke out, every player enjoyed it. We wanted to win yesterday against Plzeň, but unfortunately it didn't work out for us. Although I think we were the better team, they had more chances. Jindra Staněk (Plzeň keeper) saved several scoring chances and we conceded a goal out of one nonsense. We’re sorry, but overall we enjoyed it. It's great to win a trophy after such a long time."

The journey back from Uherské Hradiště [after clinching the title], it was clear that you were enjoying the celebrations. What role did you play in them?

"We all individually enjoyed it. Of course, it is something unreal, the last two years I was in England on loan in the third league, where I played more at the opposite end of the table. Now I returned to the Czech Republic, I play for Sparta and I won the title in the first season. This is a dream come true for me, I'm glad for it.''

Who was the captain of the party?

"Wow. I would say Jan Kuchta. (smiles) Jan Kuchta. Certainly."

Are you counting on another title for Sparta?

"Sparta is close to my heart, but if I'm counting on the title... We saw that the league and every team is improving, getting better, and next year it won't be easy, because Slavia, Plzeň and other teams like Slovácko or Sigma will definitely want to improve the quality of their squads and to prepare for the next year as well as possible. It will be another big test for us. But I hope this wasn't the last time.”

Have you already been assured by Manchester United that you will continue in Sparta?

"It is not definitive yet. I think there are still a few days to decide. But if nothing changes, and I have such information so far, then I should continue here for another year, for which I am glad."

You came to Sparta in the summer on a loan at the last minute, how do you evaluate it in retrospect?

"It was crazy. I got there in five minutes to twelve. I had decided to go the English route, I already knew about Sparta's interest at the beginning of the transfer window. And when my loan spell in England didn't work out for some reason and Sparta was still interested, I decided to go for it. I came to a club that had some ambition and I knew what it wanted to do. But I never planned it like this, in the end it's like a dream.”

You were awarded as the goalkeeper of the season, how do you see the year from an individual point of view? Were there any difficult moments?

"Of course there were a lot of them during the season. When you play for a team like Sparta, there are not many shots on goal, you have to be always concentrated, and especially when one shot comes, you have to catch it. Above all, I'm very happy that we managed it as a team."

You keep mentioning the strength and character of the team. Can you describe what it is?

"What happened here this year, how we supported each other, I have never experienced in my life. It is mainly thanks to our captain (Ladislav Krejčí), who pays a lot of attention to it. And the people in the dressing room are very cooperative too. This is the most important thing for us. When we weren't playing that good football towards the end, we won by fighting for each other and doing our best on the pitch to pick it up."

Sparta is fighting for the Champions League in the new season. Does the team have what it takes to qualify?

"You could see from the beginning of the spring how we dominated the field and outplayed our opponents. With this squad, we definitely have a chance and I'm not afraid to say that if everything goes well, we'll get to the Champions League."
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I think there is a decent chance we use him as backup GK next season
 
How good has he been? Any chance he can be a backup for us? Would save us a lot of headache in our GK search if De Gea does end up leaving.
 
Red Rash said:
I think there is a decent chance we use him as backup GK next season
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Wasn't it reported this could turn into a 2 year loan? If De Gea stays it would probably make more sense for Kovar to play every week and get European experience too.
 
Red Rash said:
I think there is a decent chance we use him as backup GK next season
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I hope that is the case.

Ideally we have a complete refresh in goal this season with Onana or Costa coming in, and Kovar playing back up / domestic cup keeper. If he does well for a year or maybe two in that role we could potentially then sell him on for decent money.
 
Is he ahead of Vitek? I think he’s older but had understood Vitek to have more potential based on prior assessments
 
Robbo* said:
Is he ahead of Vitek? I think he’s older but had understood Vitek to have more potential based on prior assessments
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Vitek is 3yrs younger and needs first team experience I think. Too soon for him.

I think we extended Bishop and Heaton to stay on as #2 and #3 if DDG stays on and we don't sign another keeper
 
Sid234 said:
Vitek is 3yrs younger and needs first team experience I think. Too soon for him.

I think we extended Bishop and Heaton to stay on as #2 and #3 if DDG stays on and we don't sign another keeper
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As we're looking for another gk, we probably don't think Kovar is good enough to be number 1 for us. If he's good enough to be number 2, we should not have extended both Heaton and Bishop.

So if he's not good enough to be number 1 or number 2, why is he not leaving permanently while his stock is high?
 
Varun1 said:
As we're looking for another gk, we probably don't think Kovar is good enough to be number 1 for us. If he's good enough to be number 2, we should not have extended both Heaton and Bishop.

So if he's not good enough to be number 1 or number 2, why is he not leaving permanently while his stock is high?
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Not sure about Matej Kovar, seems like the club thinks he needs an additional loan to get more experience. I am not sure he's the best passer out of the back, so maybe it's something he works on with the next loan
 
We extended Bishop? Why? Never a Prem keeper.
 
Sid234 said:
Not sure about Matej Kovar, seems like the club thinks he needs an additional loan to get more experience. I am not sure he's the best passer out of the back, so maybe it's something he works on with the next loan
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He has the capability, both with his left and right foot and his throwing looks on point as well.

It would be a lot to ask him to step straight in but I think there is something special about Kovar, I could easily see him at the top end of the game in the next 2-3 years. We should either use him or sell him for a decent fee with a possible buy back.
 
Would like a buyback but we at the very least do need a sell on clause for any permanent exit. I agree that he has the look of a guy that is going to be moving for big money in a couple of years time. Might not be back to us as he is not that much younger than Onana but we should definitley position ourselves to benefit if and when he does join a big club for significant money down the line.
 
Gandalf said:
Would like a buyback but we at the very least do need a sell on clause for any permanent exit. I agree that he has the look of a guy that is going to be moving for big money in a couple of years time. Might not be back to us as he is not that much younger than Onana but we should definitley position ourselves to benefit if and when he does join a big club for significant money down the line.
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Could not agree more.
 
Devil_forever said:
He's easily worth that but we both know at best we'll get £6m. He looks so so good on the ball. Only city can sell a player with zero first team minutes for £19m.
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He has first team minutes and a league title behind him, if Leverkusen decide they don't want to pay that then someone else will. Anything above £10mil up to £15mil is reasonable with a sliding scale of what sell on we get depending on the initial fee.
 
Stobzilla said:
£15mil+Sell-On percentage is reasonable I think.
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Devil_forever said:
He's easily worth that but we both know at best we'll get £6m. He looks so so good on the ball. Only city can sell a player with zero first team minutes for £19m.
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Stobzilla said:
He has first team minutes and a league title behind him, if Leverkusen decide they don't want to pay that then someone else will. Anything above £10mil up to £15mil is reasonable with a sliding scale of what sell on we get depending on the initial fee.
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Well, he’s gone for less than £6m in the end…..
 
Year ago we would be happy to get 100k for Kovar after two terrible loans. Last year was great with Sparta, so this is good sale in my opinion.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Incorrect. All reports are saying €9m.

Although I really hope that, for once, we have a solid buyback clause.

On the plus side, this might make it easier to sign the Leverkusen players we’re hankering after.
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If by all reports you mean some, then yeah all. The German reporters are all reporting €5m+€1m. Even if it’s €9m, what is that? Less than £8m. Which is much closer to £6m than £15m….
 
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