Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has highlighted Andre Onana’s mentality as the key reason why he believes he will be one of the best keepers in the world.
Van der Sar is well-placed to judge goalkeeping talent, having played for three of the biggest clubs in the world in Ajax, Juventus and of course United.
The keeper enjoyed a trophy-laden time at the Red Devils and predicts a positive future for United’s Cameroonian.
Onana arrived with a big reputation after reaching the Champions League final with Inter Milan in 2023 but started off poorly, making numerous errors, especially in the Champions League.
In 2024 he has turned it around though and currently leads the Premier League’s Golden Glove award and made a spectacular stop to deny Crystal Palace in September which will surely be a contender for save of the season.
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel “Rio Ferdinand Presents”, Van der Sar spoke of his time at Ajax where he watched Onana flourish into one of the most promising young keepers in the world.
“I trained a few times with him and I saw the talent, the strength, the reaction saves.”
Van der Sar admitted that the journey has been far from plain-sailing but this has made him develop into the player he is today.
“He needed experience and needed to make mistakes and of course, he made a few at Ajax and also made a few at United but I think that develops you as a person and as a goalkeeper.”
The 54 year old then outlined why he sees such a positive future for the United keeper by stating, “he’s a very strong character and I think that will help him become one of the very best goalkeepers in the coming years.”
Onana’s impressive turnaround is a credit to him and his mental strength after many others would have crumbled under such severe pressure and turmoil at the club.
He will hope that he can continue his fine form and the rest of the team will soon match his recent standards as the exciting Ruben Amorim era will finally get under way after the international break on Sunday the 24th of November against Ipswich Town.
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
