Andre Onana faces an uncertain future at Man Utd.placeholder image
Andre Onana faces an uncertain future at Man Utd. | AFP via Getty Images
Andre Onana has joined Trabzonspor on loan in a move that signals the end of a troubled two years.
Manchester United’s problems run much deeper than either the manager or the players with a whole list of issues that need to be fixed on and off the pitch.
Andre Onana leaves Man Utd after troubled two years
Two seasons ago United paid nearly £50m for Onana and allowed David de Gea to walk away from Old Trafford after a successful career at the club. With 190 clean sheets in 545 appearances, the 34-year old was a consistent figure between the sticks.
The Spaniard’s ratio of better than one clean sheet every three games has continued into his time in Serie A with a similar number at Fiorentina too. The current trend of managers signing goalkeepers because they are good with their feet continues to look like one that won’t last. Letting De Gea go never seemed like the right decision at the time and it continues to be one that doesn’t make sense.
With 24 clean sheets in 102 United appearances, it is easy to see why Amorim wanted a new no.1 with Onana not just guilty of conceding goals that he shouldn’t, but also of not winning games for his team either.
A more resilient keeper stops Tottenham from scoring in the Europa League final for a start. A link to Gianluigi Donnarumma was encouraging earlier in the transfer window only for Man City to swoop instead. After selling Ederson to Fenerbahce, the noisy neighbours have gone old school and decided that someone who keeps the ball out of the back of the net is more important than being able to play 60-yard through balls.
What has Ruben Amorim said about Onana blunders?
Despite only working with Onana for half a season, Amorim frequently had to field questions about his mistakes or form.
"Yeah we have to take it like it is," said the United boss after Vitoria Plzen were gifted a goal from a poor pass by Onana, via BBC Sport. "He had already in the past a situation like that. So, we have to work on this. If you see the play, we are trying to build up a lot with the goalkeeper making the balls with [Matthijs de Ligt] a lot of times. This time we have a disconnect a little bit during the play and when we tried this, we suffered a goal. A difficult goal for us in the start of the second half."
"It's not about the goalkeeper. It's not about the goalkeeper,” insisted Amorim after the recent shock defeat to Grimsby in which Onana was culpable on a couple of occasions.
“With all due respect, against a fourth division side, we have to block everything about the opponent. Andre should touch the ball with his feet if we are in the high level."
“We have training, go with (Jorge) Vital and (the United goalkeeping coach) we deal with that. So, I'm really natural that can happen with any player. There's nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him. So, the most important thing is to be natural. And then when the time comes, I will choose the best 11 to play. But I'm really confident in Andre.” Amorim said after dropping Onana last season, a confidence that never really felt genuine.
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