Andre Onana signed for Manchester United in July 2023. The Cameroon international goalkeeper was plucked from Seria A giants Inter Milan. United got the deal done for a fee in the range of $57.5 million. Onana landed at the club with big boots to fill in as he was replacing the Spaniard David de Gea.
However, so far, things haven’t gone as expected for Andre Onana with his stint at Manchester United. The 27-year-old goalkeeper was fortunate to not concede a penalty as per a VAR error in the Red Devil’s opening match of the Premier League season 2023-2024 against Wolves. The Cameroonian came off his line and tried to get the ball, but instead knocked out both of the opponent’s strikers.
Things further worsened for him, as United’s new signing made a howling mistake in their Champions League clash against Turkish club Galatasaray. The Old Trafford-based club went on to lose the game by a scoreline of 2-3.
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The 27-year-old has no clean sheets for his team in the month of October. Andre has conceded four goals in two matches this month. The former Inter Milan player has just two clean sheets in the last eight matches for Manchester United. In addition, he had let in 15 goals in his last eight outings for the club. These stats will make the fans question the $57.5 million that the club spent on him.
Reports have ironically compared the 27-year-old’s inability to keep a clean sheet in recent times to AC Milan’s striker Olivier Giroud. Giroud recently took on the goalkeeper role for AC Milan in the last stages of their Seria A match against Genoa. The French international made some decent saves. The 37-year-old managed to keep a clean sheet and helped Milan win 0-1.
Erik ten Hag speaks on costly Andre Onana mistakes
Erik ten Hag has defended United’s goalkeeper in recent times. The manager recently said, “he (Onana) has the capabilities to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world”. United’s boss further inflicted on the fact that their goalkeeper had earlier played in big stages like the Champions League semi-finals and finals.
Erik ten Hag also came to the rescue of the 27-year-old after his mistake in the Red Devil’s 4-3 loss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The manager stated that there would be mistakes in the game. Erik said, “don’t make it bigger than it is”.
It is quite clear that Erik ten Hag believes in his Cameroonian goalkeeper. But it remains to be seen if United fans persist with the same patience on the matter. In any case, Andre must pick up his game for Manchester United before more eyebrows are raised towards him.