Manchester United might be done waiting around for the right backup goalkeeper to fall into their lap. And the name floating around Old Trafford right now isn’t some young prospect from abroad or a veteran chasing one last paycheck. It’s Angus Gunn, Scotland’s current No. 1 and a guy who just became a free agent after Nottingham Forest cut him loose earlier this month.
According to The Sun, United sees Gunn as a possible solution to a problem that’s been hanging around for a while. With Senne Lammens firmly established as the starter — that £18.1 million move from Royal Antwerp looks smarter by the day — the club needs someone reliable behind him. And they need that someone to be cheap, experienced, and okay with not playing every week.
Gunn checks all three boxes. At 30 years old and 6’5″, he’s logged real minutes at Norwich, Southampton, Stoke, and most recently Forest. He also kept Scotland’s first World Cup clean sheet in four decades against Haiti. That’s not nothing.
The Onana and Bayindir situation
Here’s the part that might actually make United fans happy. If Gunn signs, it pretty much guarantees Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir are gone for good. Onana spent last season on loan at Trabzonspor and won the Turkish Cup there. The Turkish club wants to keep him. Bayindir has been linked with Besiktas. Both departures would clear wage space and, frankly, remove two names that never really worked at United.
Onana cost £47.2 million from Inter Milan. Bayindir was only £4.3 million, but neither brought the kind of stability United needed. Lammens changed that. Now the club wants to build a proper depth chart behind him.
Other names in the mix
Gunn isn’t the only option. Sam Johnstone, who came through United’s academy and just got relegated with Wolves, is on the radar. So is Leeds United’s Karl Darlow, a 35-year-old whose contract is expiring. Tottenham has shown interest in Darlow too, though they just agreed to bring back Martin Dubravka, so that might shift things.
But Gunn being available on a free transfer is a serious advantage. He knows English football. He knows the Championship and the Premier League. He’s not going to cost much in wages. And he’s got something to prove after being let go by Forest.
The club has already extended Tom Heaton for another season as the third-choice option. So the goalkeeping room is getting a real reset. If both Onana and Bayindir leave, and Gunn comes in as the No. 2, United will have a solid, affordable, and homegrown feel behind Lammens.
It’s not the flashiest move of the summer. But it might be one of the smarter ones.
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