Firstly, the widely articulated view that Onana is just not very good is wrong.
Edwin van der Sar observed the Cameroon international closely for three years when he was chief executive at Ajax.
Widely acknowledged to be one of the best goalkeepers in history, Van der Sar was genuinely excited for Onana’s move to United and was still backing him after a disappointing first season.
It is impossible to imagine someone as level-headed as Van der Sar would talk so enthusiastically about anyone without believing what he was saying to be true.
Onana himself has spoken about his introduction to life at United. “I arrived as the best goalkeeper in the world and boom, it went down,” he told BBC Sport before the 2024 FA Cup final. “It was like, what happened?”
Sources close to Onana have said he was brought to United because of his ability to play close passes – and ended up having to go long.
Part of the reason for that was what happened on his Old Trafford debut, when he came well out of his area during a pre-season friendly against Lens and played a pass to Diogo Dalot, who then gave the ball away. Onana was chipped from 50 yards.
Erik ten Hag, who had also worked with Onana at Ajax, axed David de Gea to bring his new goalkeeper in, but the change in tactics reduced the goalkeeper’s effectiveness and the regular mistakes that followed undermined confidence in Onana among supporters.
Ten Hag and then Amorim kept picking him, but a clear sign that support internally was ebbing away followed the Europa League trip to Lyon in April.
In the build-up Onana said he felt United should get through because they were “way better” than the French club.
The comment itself seemed innocuous. However, former United midfielder – and a close friend of De Gea – Nemanja Matic seized on it in the pre-match news conference, labelling Onana “one of the worst goalkeepers in the club’s history”.
It felt like a deliberate attempt to point score on behalf of a friend while heaping pressure on Onana at the same time.
The tactic worked. Onana made two mistakes as the first leg finished 2-2.
Amorim gave Bayindir his Premier League debut in the game that followed at Newcastle and, while Onana did appear to end the season as first choice given he started both legs of the Europa League semi-final and the final, the previous faith in him from the coaching side – Ten Hag delayed his call-up to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024 so long that the only game he missed was the FA Cup win at Newport – had reduced.
Bayindir started the final league game of last term and then, even though Onana had recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered right at the start of pre-season, kept his place for the first three matches of this campaign.
Onana’s only outing has come in the Carabao Cup defeat at League Two Grimsby, when he was at fault for their second goal.
Evidently, Amorim felt he needed a new goalkeeper. Onana is the one he has decided he is willing to do without.
Read the full article here
