Radek Vitek joined Bristol City on loan from Manchester United last summer and impressed under Gerhard Struber at Ashton Gate
Bristol City goalkeeper Radek Vitek looks on while in action for the Robins(Image: Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Radek Vitek insists that his focus is on the remainder of Bristol City’s season, but the Manchester United loanee has admitted that he doesn’t want to end up “somewhere sitting on the bench” when discussing his future at Old Trafford.
The 22-year-old joined the ranks at Ashton Gate on a season-long loan from the Red Devils last summer and has impressed in his first season in the Championship. At the time of writing, Vitek has made 34 appearances for the Robins, keeping nine clean sheets in the league.
All of those outings in red and white have come under the management of Gerhard Struber; however, the Czech stopper will spend the final five weeks or so of his loan spell with Roy Hodgson as his head coach after the 78-year-old was appointed as interim boss last week.
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Before he joined City, Vitek put pen to paper on a new deal at Old Trafford until the summer of 2028. Such a fact didn’t stop Struber from voicing his desire to bring the United loanee back to the West Country next season, prior to his sacking, however.
With seven games of the Championship campaign and his spell with the Robins still to come, the 22-year-old isn’t yet looking beyond the end of the season, even if he is eager to ensure that he is able to play regular first-team football again next term.
In an interview with the BBC’s Simon Stone, the Robins loanee said, “At the moment, I’m focusing on being as strong as possible for Bristol City with eight [now seven] games to play.
“I want to give my best for the club and build my platform towards next season. Then I will communicate with Manchester United closely, and we will see what’s going to be best for me next season.
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“But I want to play football. I don’t want to just be somewhere sitting on the bench.”
Vitek was the second goalkeeper to arrive at Ashton Gate over the course of the summer transfer window, with Joe Lumley making the switch to the West Country following his release from Southampton earlier in the off-season.
The Robins’ initial plan had been for the 31-year-old to serve as number two to Max O’Leary, who had been an ever-present as City ended their 17-year wait for a play-off finish last term. However, when the academy graduate sustained an ankle injury in pre-season, the approach changed.
Vitek was brought in on loan in order to cover in O’Leary’s absence, with United holding the option to recall him from his temporary spell in January, if his game time became limited as the campaign wore on. Ultimately, though, things worked out better than expected for the 22-year-old.
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“I came here to play a few games at the start because the number one was injured,” Vitek explained. “He [O’Leary] had been here a long time, so it was difficult to keep the shirt, but in the back of my mind, I always wanted to stay here and play the whole season. That was my goal.
“At this stage in my career, I want to play as many games as possible. I wouldn’t benefit from sitting on the bench.”
Should Vitek not return to Ashton Gate this summer, Lumley will – at this moment in time – be the only senior stopper on the Robins’ books after O’Leary was sold to West Brom in the January transfer window. City hold the option to extend third-choice goalkeeper Lewis Thomas’ deal until the summer of 2027, but no such option has been taken up at this point.
Academy stoppers Joe Duncan and Isaac Finch both have deals that run until the end of next season, but it feels likely a keeper will be high on the Robins’ shopping list this summer – whether that be Vitek or an alternative.
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