Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez
Would Manchester United be better off after replacing Andre Onana with Emiliano Martinez?
It is official, transfer silly season is here. How do we know? Just look at some of the players Manchester United have found themselves linked with in these opening days of June.
Take Emiliano Martinez, for example. Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper, a 2022 FIFA World Cup winner plus collector of the Yashin Trophy and The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper award, twice each.
It comes as no surprise an overhaul is being speculated for Man United's goalkeeping department looking ahead to a first full season under Ruben Amorim, but Martinez, really?
Andre Onana has hardly done much in the space of two years to instil confidence within those protecting his goal, let alone the 74,310 who turn up to Old Trafford every other week hoping to see the turning point in which their club heads back towards the top.
Perhaps the most high-profile errors in 2024/25 came in Europa League action, when not one, but two calamities allowed Lyon to take a two-goal apiece draw for the quarter-final second-leg at Old Trafford - all after former Red Devil Nemanja Matic had publicly taunted Onana, branding him 'one of the worst' in the club's history. Again, in the final, Brennan Johnson bundled Spurs' eventual winner over the line with the 28-year-old slow to react.
But it is in the Premier League he plays the majority of his football and on top of four errors leading to a shot on target across the term just finished, his goals conceded and clean sheet rate might just give Matic's severe claim some legs.
Goal concession by Manchester United goalkeepers in the Premier League era
Minimum 30 matches played
(Image: The Manchester Evening News)
What isn't taken into consideration with the above is the failure of the defence in front of the Cameroon international. Take Edwin van der Sar's days in net for Sir Alex Ferguson, in Man United's best-performing season, 2009/10, with him as No.1 the lowest shots on target faced was just 77, when Onana faced 132 in the term just finished.
Yet it isn't these numbers that supporters witness live in the flesh, it is the manner in which Onana commands his penalty area and the manner in which he concedes some of these goals.
With 10 goals conceded from corners, only Southampton (12), Ipswich Town and Wolves (both 11) let in more goals than Onana from opposition corners in 2024/25. His 5.5 percent success rate of stopping 22 of 399 crosses faced was also the eighth-worst recorded amongst Premier League stoppers.
It is blatantly obvious that Martinez would paper over these strong weaknesses of Onana's, conceding only twice from corners and stopping 56 of 498 crosses faced (11.2 percent) whilst playing for Villa.
That, realistically, is about it.
It speaks volumes that Fbref.com's database feature of being able to compare the 10 most like-for-like players to Onana over the past 365 days lists the Argentine amongst them.
There was only a difference of one in 2024/25 in the most important statistic of all when it comes to goalkeepers, with Man United's conceding 44 (1.29 per 90 minutes) in total and Villa's conceding 45 (1.27 per 90 minutes).
Onana's 88 saves in total gave him a success rate of 68.9 percent against shots faced, Martinez managed a higher total of 96 but this equated to only a dead-on 69 percent success rate.
And last but not least, Onana's nine clean sheets may have bettered Martinez's amount by only one, but it still counts in the golden glove race.
The modern game is also applying increasing pressure on players in this position to be confident passers of the ball - that is why Onana finds himself a Man United player practically - Erik ten Hag at the time did not trust in David de Gea.
Now using Amorim's system of play, the goalkeeper is still truly the one to kickstart a precise build-up play process. Martinez may edge the 2024/25 success rate battle against his Old Trafford counterpart, 78.7 percent to 72.6 percent, but in actual fact there is very little in it between their ability at short (5-15 yards) or medium (15-30 yards) range, at least not to argue that Man United would be acquiring a vastly improvement for whatever fee it is Villa's goalkeeper would command.
Andre Onana pass completion in the Premier League 2024/25
(Image: The Manchester Evening News)
Emiliano Martinez pass completion in the Premier League 2024/25
(Image: The Manchester Evening News)
Worthy of final mention are Martinez's six errors leading to opposition shots on target, beating Onana's four, and also the Argentina international's five yellow cards and that unforgettable red card on the final day of the season at Old Trafford, rubber stamping his extremely poor disciplinary record.
Villa also tied their man down to a contract through to 2029 only last autumn, meaning transfermarkt now rate him with a value of €20m (£16.8m). Let's not forget, he will turn 33 once September rolls around.
We're left with no other option but the surmise that was Martinez to become Onana's replacement, it would serve to be an indicator that Man United have not learned their lesson by signing a 30-plus-year-old who may serve a purpose for a short time, but soon enough will only become the next issue to solve.
There is an answer out there somewhere, it is just not Martinez.