Altay Bayindir knows how to seize his chance and after months of watching on from the bench he will finally get one for Manchester United. The Turkey international has played in plenty of intimidating atmospheres in his homeland so should not be fazed by a trip to League Two Newport County in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
At the age of 20 he was the third-choice goalkeeper for the Turkish Super Lig side Ankaragucu, looking on while others made mistakes, when he was thrust into the team. After signing for United from Fenerbahce in the summer, he may have expected to have featured before late January but André Onana played every minute this season, despite underwhelming form, before his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Altay was a young boy, mostly a line goalkeeper, who had great reflexes and was good with his feet,” says Bayindir’s former Ankaragucu teammate Moestafa El Kabir. “When the first goalkeeper got injured, the second choice got one game and didn’t do well. I told the coach, because I had some influence as one of the main players in the team, to play Altay because he was performing very well in training, making good saves, being vocal at such a young age.”
Bayindir was 10 years younger than his goalkeeping colleagues but proved he was capable and maintained his place for the remainder of the campaign, earning a move in the summer of 2019 to Fenerbahce, where he immediately became a regular.
“I remember him winning a game for us with some great saves,” El Kabir says. “This was a kid who was 20 years old. He had confidence and he was very charismatic on the pitch – he was very confident considering he was such a young goalkeeper. He was very introverted off the pitch; he did not say much but was very respectful towards the older players.”
The first season at Fenerbahce was disappointing for the club, bringing a seventh-placed finish, but for Bayindir it was successful: wearing the No 98 shirt he played 32 times in the league. The current Cardiff manager, Erol Bulut, arrived in the hope of turning things around and brought his own staff, including the goalkeeping coach Michael Kraft, to help reinvigorate the club.
“I did a complete analysis,” Kraft says of Bayindir. “He was very striking; despite being 6ft 5in in height, Altay was very fast and light-footed. He was only 22 and was playing his second season at a top Turkish club. His movements were wild and sometimes without plan and his control of the penalty area was not consistent. We trained all the details with game-related training and video analysis. Altay is very smart, so he was in top condition in just a few weeks. He has courage, explosiveness and quick reactions. With his height he has an incredible reach to hold on to unstoppable shots.”
An international debut followed in May 2021 for Bayindir but he has never secured the No 1 spot for Turkey, earning eight caps. His final season at Fenerbahce was one of mixed form and he missed the final weeks with a hernia problem. There are still question marks over his ability with his feet and dealing with crosses but he has worked hard on improving these areas of his game.
“In Turkey the players are under enormous pressure,” says Kraft. “For the fans there is no middle ground: either you are the hero or the loser. This move to Manchester United is a good new beginning for Altay. You will have a lot of fun with him at United.”
United saw the potential as they searched for an economical backup to Onana, paying Fenerbahce £4.7m. Erik ten Hag chose not to test the understudy in the Carabao Cup, despite Onana’s mistakes, but Bayindir is finally poised to become the first Turkish player to represent United.
“To be completely honest, I could see him playing for one of the big three in Turkey but not to the level of United,” El Kabir says. “I knew he was very talented and would make it to the Turkish national team and I could see him go to one of the big clubs but United, that’s a whole other level. I am very happy for him, I am very proud of him. There is a lot of pressure on United at the moment but I think he will embrace it. To be able to play for this major club and on this stage – I have no doubts he will do well.”
Onana was dropped by Cameroon for the final group game at Afcon and will soon return to Manchester but Bayindir can stake a claim for more minutes, whether in the league or FA Cup. Reputation and standing do not matter to Bayindir. He just wants the opportunity to prove himself and he finally has it.
