The history of Manchester United, especially post-Sir Alex Ferguson, is littered with mistakes, but one error might well age to be one of the worst ones relative to expectations.
From the price tag for Antony, to the protracted chase for Jadon Sancho, from the farce that was Frenkie de Jong’s transfer saga to the short-lived Angel di Maria signing, Man Utd have a long list of transfer errors.
However, there is one player among all those whose signing wasn’t just a part of an evolution of the squad, but a complete revolution.
He was signed as “one of the world’s best”. He was determined to create “his own legacy”. Creating his own legacy is what he did, but in the worst way possible.
Andre Onana, Casemiro and Richarlison - FBL-EUR-C3-TOTTENHAM-MANCHESTER UTD - EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL
Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images
Andre Onana’s signing was a revolution
Few signings generated more excitement at the time they happened than that of Andre Onana.
Onana was heralded as the symbol of a new era at Old Trafford after replacing “archaic” David de Gea, who had been passed by football.
United finally had a progressive, ball-playing goalkeeper under Erik ten Hag, and he was going to revolutionise the club’s style of play.
That sentiment was reflected in United’s official announcement of Onana’s signing, with John Murtough, the then director of football, raving about the coup.
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He said at the time: “Andre was our top choice to become the new goalkeeper for Manchester United, with exactly the right profile of technical attributes and personality. Having achieved success throughout his career, we know that Andre will further add to the winning mentality we are building within our squad.
“He is already one of the world’s best goalkeepers and at the age of 27, we firmly believe that he can develop even further over the coming years.”
Onana struck a confident tone, saying he was determined to create his own legacy at the club.
Onana said: “Manchester United has a long history of incredible goalkeepers, and I will now give everything to create my own legacy in the coming years.”
Onana quickly turned into a nightmare and his legacy is set
Onana began his Man Utd spell by being lobbed from the halfway line, so, in many ways, the stage was set for the things to come.
Forget ball-playing, Onana’s confidence was so shot that he was effectively De Gea 2.0 in the buildup. And his shot-stopping pedigree was nowhere near De Gea’s.
There were some highs to promise a better eventual future, but they all turned out to be false dawns.
From being called one of the best in the world to being called the worst goalkeeper in the history of Man Utd by Nemanja Matic, Onana has had quite a nightmare.
Now that he’s close to Trabzonspor on loan after a sour relationship with Ruben Amorim, his promise of creating a legacy at United has been fulfilled.
Unfortunately, it’s not in the manner he, or anyone else, would have wanted.
Onana will be remembered as one of the most damning mistakes of United in the transfer market relative to the excitement that flowed through the club when he arrived.