No other goalkeeper in the Premier League has prevented as many goals as Andre Onana with the Cameroonian international leading the division for clean sheets and emerging as an early front runner for Manchester United’s Player of the Year.
Yet, rewind to this stage twelve months ago, and Onana was being lambasted for a series of chaotic performances which almost single-handedly caused the Red Devils to embarrassingly crash out of the Champions League in the group stages.
Having produced a brilliant season for Inter Milan, the 28-year-old was signed for £43.8 million last summer to replace long-term stalwart David De Gea, making him the third most expensive goalkeeper in history.
But the theory of a brand new shot stopper who was even better with his feet than his hands did not translate to practice, as Onana was guilty of a number of high-profile mistakes for United, leading many to question the costly decision to move on from De Gea.
However, Erik ten Hag, who ultimately was relieved of his position as manager a month ago, persevered with his goalkeeper through this rocky form. And, The Athletic reveals, this faith was rewarded handsomely as Onana’s performances dramatically improved as the season went on with Old Trafford sources commending Ten Hag for the decision.
The report contends, “United’s manager at the time Erik ten Hag was key to getting Onana back on track. He backed his No 1 and constantly reminded the player that he had proved he was a top goalkeeper when playing for Ajax (where they had worked together) and Inter. He had started slowly with those clubs too, but improved once he got to know his team-mates.”
Onana finished the 2023/24 season with the fourth most clean sheets in the Premier League by a goalkeeper, ranking in the same position for expected goals on target prevented (xGOT) – a metric The Athletic contends is an “accurate way to measure goalkeeper performance” as it compares the number of goals conceded versus how many they were expected to allow.
And the Cameroonian has produced an even better start to this campaign, ranking first in the division for clean sheets and xGOT.
Onana has easily been United’s most consistent performer this year amidst a season of abject displays, which led to the club’s decision to replace Ten Hag with Ruben Amorim during the international break at the beginning of the month.
Amorim’s first game at the helm saw United travel to Portman Road to play Ipswich Town last Sunday. Onana made a number of brilliant saves to keep his team in the game as the Red Devils struggled to a fortunate 1-1 draw, with newly promoted Ipswich thoroughly outplaying their much more-expensively assembled opponents.
The 28-year-old’s dramatic improvement over the past twelve months is a testament to the power of patience when bedding in an expensive new signing from a different league.
Joshua Zirkzee, who has drawn fierce criticism from United’s fanbase following his £36.5 million move from Bologna in the summer, should draw inspiration from Onana’s mental fortitude in demonstrating success in Serie A can translate to success in the Premier League.
The Cameroonian international is averaging a new goalkeeping coach every five months at Old Trafford since swapping Milan for Manchester – a testament to the turmoil on and off the pitch which has embroiled the club in this period.
Dressing sources reveal Onana has “got on well with his string of United goalkeeping coaches”, despite their different personalities and demands. The 28-year-old is a consummate professional whose confident and assured approach has seen him emerge as a leader, never shirking the responsibilities of interviews nor blaming others for his mistakes.
Onana is multilingual – speaking English, Spanish, French, Italian and Ewondo (a regional Cameroonian language – and “helps knit the squad together”. He sees himself as a “future captain” of the club, while his off-the-field actions demonstrate a footballer who wants to use his position to help local communities as much as his defenders.
The Athletic writes, “[Onana] visited the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to donate United-designed hospital gowns and the club’s foundation’s Street Reds training sessions for local children. On Tuesday, Onana received the FIFPRO Impact award for his humanitarian work in Cameroon and other African countries, where his charitable foundation provides free medical care to underprivileged communities.”
Onana is comfortably United’s best signing from a summer transfer window which saw the club spend in excess of €200 million. If the 28-year-old maintains his imperious form this season, he’ll begin making a case for being one of the strongest purchases across the entire post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
