Altay Bayindir was the big talking point during Man Utd vs Wigan, fans are genuinely gutted for him

Erik ten Hag's decision to start Andre Onana instead of Altay Bayindir in Monday night's FA Cup third round clash against Wigan has become a huge talking point online.

Bayindir became the first Turkish player in history to sign for Manchester United when he joined the Premier League club from Fenerbahce in September for £4.3 million.

The 25-year-old was, of course, brought in to serve as an understudy to Andre Onana, who was Erik ten Hag's first choice to replace David de Gea.

But many expected Bayindir to feature more than he has. In fact, the Turkey international has yet to play a single minute of first-team football under Ten Hag as they continue to struggle.

And that trend continued on Monday night, when the back-up goalkeeper was named on the bench for their FA Cup clash against League One side Wigan.

It remains to be seen as to whether Onana will feature for United in the coming weeks as he gets ready to play for Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations.

But many are sympathetic towards Bayindir and his current situation.

One fan wrote: "Why did Erik ten Hag sign Altay Bayindir? If he can’t even start him in the FA Cup against League One Wigan Athletic. 0 minutes so far this season. Bayindir should be on the phone to his agent telling him to secure him a move away now."

A second said: "Erik Ten Hag benching Altay Bayindir again tonight isn't right, if you don't trust him then who are we gonna play after Tottenham? He needs to at least get some minutes tonight," while another commented: "A penny for the thoughts of Altay Bayindir."

A fourth wrote: "Honestly if I was Altay Bayindir I would be outta here.. what was the point if we literally won’t give him a single minute on the pitch?"

A fifth added: "I'm starting to debate as to whether Altay Bayindir is an actual person/player or not."

Image credit: Getty

Ahead of Monday's clash, Erik ten Hag was asked about reports claiming he has lost confidence in Bayindir.

"We are totally happy, and we constructed this group of goalkeepers because we are comfortable with this, and we have that confidence in them both," he said. "They are both very good goalkeepers."

Topics: FA Cup, Manchester United, Premier League, Wigan Athletic, Fan Reactions

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

@jackkenmare_