After working with David de Gea for one season, then-Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag decided to bring in a new goalkeeper due to the Spaniard’s weakness with the ball at his feet and his tendency not to leave his line to collect balls.
The Dutch manager asked the club to bring in his former Ajax protege Andre Onana from Inter Milan with the Red Devils splurging £47.2 million to land him in the summer of 2023.
And it has been a rollercoaster ride ever since, with current head coach Ruben Amorim seeing the Cameroonian commit two huge errors as bogey team Brighton came to Old Trafford to pick up three points courtesy of a 3-1 win.
He could no nothing about the opener but for the Seagulls’ second, Onana stayed rooted to his line, opting not to catch Yankuba Minteh’s clipped ball as Kaoru Mitoma ghosted in to plant his header into the goal.
Huge error from Onana
And the goal that killed off the tie came from a huge error from the 28-year-old with the shot-stopper failing to collect a regulation low cross with Georginio Rutter capitalising.
United’s No 1 was showing signs of life, especially early on in this campaign with his shot-stopping but Sunday’s error was the latest in a growing catalogue of mistakes from Onana in his still nascent United career.
He was known for his passing ability during his time at Inter, but against Brighton, the goalkeeper managed to complete only 52 percent of his passes.
Only 13 out of 25 found its mark while Onana also fumbled when going long, ending the game with a 27 percent long passing accuracy.
Mistakes creeping in again
He found success with only four long balls out of 15 attempts and managed 0 saves throughout the game as Brighton scored from each of their on target attempts.
Despite a few impressive displays this season, Amorim must have a serious conversation with the Cameroon international whose form has dived off a cliff in recent weeks.
Reserve keeper Altay Bayindir has shown he is ready for the step-up if required and must be favourite to start the club’s next game, a Europa League home tie against Rangers.
If Onana’s inconsistent spell in goal continues, it might be time for INEOS to add the goalkeeping position in the list of areas that need reinforcements.
Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
