Nowadays, buy-back clauses are trending. Eventually, even Manchester United, a team notorious for falling behind the times, became involved.
After his loan with Sevilla ends, which obviously seems quite improbable at the moment, Hannibal Mejbri has the option to return to Manchester United for £28 million if he decides to make the move permanent.
Similar terms were used by the Red Devils when they shipped Alvaro Fernandez to Benfica. Meanwhile, Zidane Iqbal’s contract with FC Utrecht includes a buy-back clause—just in case the midfielder you sold to them for a pittance turns out to be the Eredivisie sensation you were hoping for.
At the same time, Matej Kovar may yet be able to make it at Old Trafford.
Matej Kovar can re-sign with Manchester United
If the highly-rated goalkeeper at Bayer Leverkusen, who are now leading the Bundesliga by a wide margin thanks to Xabi Alonso, were to develop into one of the finest in Europe, Manchester United would have first dibs on him.
That buy-back option is obviously not going to be exercised anytime soon. Kovar, who signed with German club Leverkusen in August for a reported £8 million, maintains that Manchester United has not contacted him since his move to Germany.
But he isn’t completely ruling out the possibility of continuing in the northwest of England.
In an interview with Sport, Kovar denied having any communication with United despite his desire to be involved in Czech Republic preparations for Euro 2024. I need to get my game in and carve out a spot for myself at Leverkusen.
“Furthermore, we shall observe the outcomes of the future.”
‘We’ll examine it.’
Kovar stayed with Manchester United for five years. After impressing under Erik ten Hag in preseason, especially with his distribution, Kovar was somewhat worried when United accepted Leverkusen’s offer. He had just been crowned the Czech league’s Goalkeeper of the Season while on loan at Sparta Prague.
I will always have a soft spot for Manchester United. Adding, “I was a member of the club for a long time,” Kovar continued. United are facing a challenging season. The outcomes are quite repetitive.
“I hope it gets back to the top; it’s a big and great club.”
Maybe Kovar will be United’s ally on that path down the road. At the moment, though, his main objective is to unseat Lukas Hradecky at Bundesliga contenders Bayer Leverkusen. Only then will he be able to secure a spot at the European Championships this summer.