Manchester United sets a £10 million price tag on selling the "new Cech," who refuses to be Ramsdale's backup! Any replacement must meet one prerequisite.

Manchester United has agreed to sell young goalkeeper Radek Vitek, with his transfer fee already determined—£10 million can secure his departure.

BBC's Simon Stone stated: "I would be genuinely surprised if Vitek stays at Manchester United next season as Ramsdale's backup. I don’t think that’s something he’s willing to do. Is it more likely he’ll be loaned out again? That’s what someone told me, and I also think he could be sold. In Vitek’s mind, he really wants to play matches."

Manchester United is following their city rivals Manchester City’s approach to young players: if they cannot guarantee them opportunities in the first team, they aim to sell them at the best possible price. United’s CEO Omar Berrada and football director Jason Wilcox both came from City and are very familiar with this strategy.

Manchester United could soon earn a significant transfer fee. If Vitek is sold successfully, all proceeds will be pure profit. Vitek joined United from Sigma Olomouc in the Czech Republic at age 16 in 2020, and after three years, he has become a club-trained youth product.

The 22-year-old goalkeeper had an outstanding loan spell at Bristol City last season, sweeping all the club’s top awards, including Fans’ Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year, and Young Player of the Year.

At the end of last season, Vitek returned to United’s Carrington base, and the club indicated they intended to make him the second-choice goalkeeper, replacing Altay Bayındır. United will look to sell both Andre Onana and Bayındır—the first and second-choice keepers under Ten Hag—this summer, so they need a new goalkeeper.

But the player himself is not content with this role, which would mean Vitek only plays in domestic cup competitions. Moreover, Senne Lammens is only one year older than Vitek, so staying would mean being a permanent backup. The Czech goalkeeper has no intention of remaining a number two for the long term.

Vitek wants regular playing time and hopes to become another successful Premier League goalkeeper from the Czech Republic, following in the footsteps of Petr Čech. With only two years left on his contract, United has no choice but to accept his transfer request and has set the asking price.

Given his age, it’s understandable that Vitek urgently wants more playing opportunities. According to Premier League transfer expert Alan Nixon, United is reluctant to let Vitek leave on loan again and instead wants a permanent transfer. If they force him to stay or loan him out for another season, his value will drop next year when he has just one year left on his contract.

United has set a £10 million asking price for Vitek, with multiple Championship clubs vying to sign him. The club usually includes sell-on clauses and even buy-back clauses in such deals, though the final outcome remains to be seen.

Therefore, if he leaves, the club must satisfy one condition when bringing in a replacement: the player must be homegrown in England, to fill the quota of club-trained players for Premier League and Champions League registration.

Wolves’ Sam Johnstone is a very suitable candidate—he not only has a Premier League "homegrown" status but is also a Manchester United academy product. Leeds United’s Welsh international goalkeeper Mark Darlow is another hot candidate, as he also holds homegrown status.