Andre Onana has received a damning verdict from former Manchester United defender Paul Parker, after he claimed the club would be in a much better place if they still had David De Gea as their first choice goalkeeper.
Onana is on his way to Turkey after agreeing loan deal with Trabzonspor, with his final game in United colours a snapshot of the error-strewn story he has painted during his time at the club.
Another disastrous Onana display contributed to the humiliating Carabao Cup defeat at Grimsby earlier this month, with the mistake leading to a goal that contributed to United‘s downfall against League Two opposition.
The Cameroon keeper finally ran out of lives when United manager Ruben Amorim replaced him with Altay Bayindir heading into this new season and a final nail was fired into Onana’s hopes of a return by signing Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp in the final hours of the transfer window.
Onana made his exit from United with a battered reputation and Parker had claimed the decision to bring him in as De Gea’s replacement in the summer of 2023 has backfired badly.
“He has been a disaster,” Parker told Football365 with WhichBookie.
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“His record is so poor when you look at the goals conceded and while you can’t blame it all on Onana as the defence is involved, I never really understood when they bought him in the first place.
“With David De Gea in goal, even now, United would be at least 60 per-cent better defensively than where they are.
“They would not be anywhere near where they are and how people talk about them if De Gea had been in goal over the last couple of seasons.”
Parker, who won two Premier League titles at United in Sir Alex Ferguson’s first trophy-winning team, went on to suggest Spanish keeper De Gea was ousted at United for his lack of ability with the ball at his feet.
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Yet he believes that judgement is misguided, with Onana’s persistent mistakes highlighting the importance of a keeper to do his primary job.
Parker played in a United defence propped up by Danish great Peter Schmeichel, who was hailed as the best shot stopper in the game during his long reign as United’s No.1, and he suggests the qualifications required to be a top level keeper in the modern game need to be revised.
“They said De Gea is not good with his feet, but I’ve always believed goalkeepers need to be better with their hands than their feet,” he added.
“I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t kick the ball. Don’t give it to him if that is not his strength. That’s how you get around that problem.
“As a defender, I want to look around at my goalkeeper and think I fancy you to keep and clean sheet, earn me a bonus and help us win a football match. That’s what David De Gea was all about.
“This goalkeeper (Onana), is about himself. There is arrogance. You need arrogance because you have to believe in your own ability, but the arrogance he had was totally wrong for Manchester United.”
United manager Amorim will have a decision to make heading into this weekend’s Manchester derby, with Bayindir and Lammens battling it out to start at the Etihad Stadium.
Neither will want to end their career at the club with a tarnished legacy comparable to that of the departed Onana, who will now look to rebuild his career in the Turkish league.