Of the many areas Manchester United need to strengthen this summer, goalkeeper is the position they will most resent having to address.
Andre Onana should have been United’s No. 1 for a decade; that was the plan when the Red Devils spent £43.7million on the Cameroonian in 2023 to replace David De Gea and, to be fair to the recruitment ‘brains trust’ at Old Trafford at the time, there was very little dissent over their pick.
Onana was viewed as a safe set of hands with two feet that would help United play the Ten Hag way, a concept that remains a mystery. The ex-Ajax keeper had just helped Inter Milan get to the Champions League final and the decision to give him De Gea’s gloves was overwhelmingly well-received by everyone bar De Gea.
The recent revisionism around De Gea highlights how far short Onana has come to matching those early expectations. Despite the Spaniard’s success at Fiorentina – after a season’s sabbatical – the decision to replace De Gea was absolutely correct. Their choice of replacement – in glorious hindsight – was not.
We’ll give him a pass on the fact he hasn’t improved United in possession. Sometimes, a goalkeeper building out from the back is only as good as the players he’s passing to. As we know, many of his team-mates just aren’t up to receiving the ball under pressure, from either high-pressing opponents or the millions scrutinising them across the globe.
That doesn’t excuse some of Onana’s clumsiness, especially when playing longer. But his real failings are rooted in the more traditional expectation of an elite goalkeeper: be hard to beat. Save the shots you’re expected to save, and some that you’re not.
His two seasons in the United goal have been riddled with mistakes. Not just basic handling errors, but some inexplicable decision-making and highly-questionable techniques. One example: his approach to one-on-ones – stay deep, sit down – can’t be one that any of the Carrington goalkeeping coaches and analysts endorse. And, assuming they have identified it, they haven’t corrected his habit of parrying into poor areas.
The fact that United are in Bilbao right now, hoping to rescue a generationally-bad season with a trophy and a route into the Champions League via the back door, is in spite of Onana’s performances.
As is the case with many of their failing players that need upgrading, getting Onana out of Old Trafford won’t be easy for United without almost giving him away. Really, they need to hope a sheikh in Saudi is blinded by his profile enough to ignore his flaws.
With that comes another attempt at finding a goalkeeper capable, composed and confident enough to keep United’s goal.
Recent days have seen the Red Devils linked with Emiliano Martinez. At first sight, it appears to be a solid match.
Martinez, not long ago viewed by some as the best on the planet largely because of his role in making Argentina kings of the world, appears to possess the requisite confidence. Outwardly at least, he presents as a character big enough to handle the pressure of defending even United’s goal.
But perhaps we shouldn’t be fooled by his bravado. It is entirely likely that Martinez is more sensitive and self-aware than Onana. The Argentina No.1 has spoken about how he has worked on portraying an image of infallibility; much of the arrogance is an act. Which is absolutely fine – goalkeepers do need to fake it if they aren’t feeling it. But we ought not to believe that Martinez is the outstanding candidate based purely on the character he plays.
But you could argue that type of personality is not what United need at this stage of whatever trauma it is they are currently going through. An attention-seeking egomaniac impatient with others’ imperfections would not lead a happy existence behind Ruben’s reds right now.
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The game doesn’t produce many goalkeepers with those traits anymore. Modern keepers tend to carry a calmer authority, more in the mould of Alisson than Schmeichel or Kahn.
Plenty still skirt close to the edge, but the likes of Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale have worked hard to train their chimp rather than allow it to fling faeces while swinging from the goalposts.
Martinez too has tweaked his mindset and persona on the way to becoming one of the Premier League’s best, channelling the frustration of being overlooked at Arsenal towards oozing the confidence that helped Argentina to a third star. It worked for him then. But that doesn’t mean it will work at Old Trafford.
He doesn’t have to act the d*ck now. The chip on his shoulder from being binned by Arsenal ought to have been smoothed by a World Cup winner’s medal and various individual honours thrusted from his groin that vindicate him from whatever doubts plagued him. It’s a matter of opinion whether Martinez is the best in the Premier League/Europe/world, but he’s rightly in all those conversations. That should be enough to facilitate the evolution from manufactured arrogance to supreme and justified confidence.
United need much more of the latter than the former. Of course, Villa will have plenty to say about Martinez’s next steps. Shipping to Saudi is a very different prospect to selling to a domestic rival, if United can still be labelled that. Without making it worth their while, there is certainly more in a move for United than Villa.
Which leads us to believe it perhaps won’t happen, especially if United are turned over by Tottenham in the Battle of the Banter Clubs. Regardless of the outcome in Bilbao, persisting with Onana is not an option for a serious club if United are hoping to be viewed as one again in the near future. The Cameroonian must be replaced, by an experienced, proven stopper. And Martinez ticks most of their boxes.