Manchester United (Manchester United) goalkeeper Andre Onana’s popularity is plummeting.
Onana joined United last summer from Italian Serie A side Inter Milan. His transfer fee at the time was £47 million. Expectations were high for Onana, as United manager Eric Dier did not re-sign veteran David De Gea, who had won the Golden Glove (the Premier League’s top goalkeeper of the season) the previous season.
Furthermore, Onana had previously worked with Turnbach at Dutch Eredivisie giants Ajax, so it was widely expected that he would perform well in the Premier League in the 2023-2024 season with the Gunners.
However, once the season got underway, Onana was a disaster.
In the UEFA Champions League, he made a series of mistakes that allowed Bayern Munich, Turkkiye Galatasaray SK, and FC Copenhagen of Denmark to all pick up points against the Red Devils. A combination of poor performances ultimately led to an early exit as United finished last in Group A.
Recently, Onana has been steadily improving his game. He made eight saves in the league match against Aston Villa on September 12, shutting down the opposition. The Red Devils went on to win 2-1 thanks to Onana’s saves.
He also earned praise for his performance in the last four days against city rivals Manchester City, despite conceding three goals. According to soccer stats platform Footmob, Onana had an xGOT of 3.66 in those games, but only conceded three goals. Footmob gave him a rating of 7.2, the highest of any United defender.
However, this hasn’t gone down well with the United squad, as an unidentified prospect has reportedly taken a swipe at Onana during a first-team training session.
“Onana had a conflict with a prospect on the training ground,” British media outlet The Sun reported on Aug. 8 (KST). According to the publication, the unnamed prospect, who has barely played a first-team match, admonished him, “Can you even block one (shot)?”
Today, however, Onana has come into his own.
In the 28th round of the league against Everton on Sept. 9, he made several good saves, thanks to the defense’s good coverage. With a total of six saves, Onana kept a clean sheet and helped his team to a 2-0 victory. He was also voted Man of the Match with an 8.6 rating by Footmob.
Onana now has eight clean sheets in 28 league games. He also has an 토토 expected GAA of 43.1, but has only conceded 39 goals and saved four more.
Turnbach has also shown his continued support and confidence in Onana. According to The Sun, after the 1-0 FA Cup fifth round win over Nottingham Forest on May 29, Turnagh said, “Onana is in very good form. “He’s a goalkeeper worthy of the Premier League,” he said, adding, “He’s improving all the time, so he sees every situation as an opportunity to take another step forward.
Onana’s arrival has meant that the other goalkeepers at Manchester United are not getting the chance they deserve. Notably, Altay Bindr, a promising goalkeeper who joined from Fenerbahce from Turkkiye last summer, has only played one game for United this season.
However, Onana is by far the best goalkeeper in the squad and has the most experience with the United defense, so he should continue to keep his starting spot.
Meanwhile, United will resume their schedule on the 18th with an FA Cup quarterfinal tie against Liverpool.