André Onana: Now is the time for Man United’s first-ever African goalkeeper to leave Old Trafford

André Onana’s Manchester United career has been a rollercoaster with more lows than highs. From being hailed as world-class to being labelled as one of the worst goalkeepers in the club’s history, the Cameroonian’s high-profile errors and lack of consistency have seen him become a serious liability for the Red Devils.

On May 16, 2023, Inter Milan progressed to the UEFA Champions League final on a 3-0 aggregate score against eternal rivals, AC Milan.

Behind the sticks for both legs was Cameroon international, André Onana, who recorded 13 clean sheets, the most in the competition that season, to help the blue side of Milan to only their third UCL final in 51 years.

In that same season with Inter, he won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana, garnering fame as a high-risk, ball-playing goalkeeper in the Italian Serie A.

Before his time in Italy, Onana had also won the Eredivisie thrice with Ajax, adding two KNVB Cups and a Johan Cruyff Shield to an impressive trophy collection at 26 years old.

Those statistics made an impression 1,541km away in Greater Manchester, and on July 20, 2023, Manchester United secured a record-breaking £47.2 million move to make André Onana their first-ever African goalkeeper.

However, not all United fans were pleased with their new signing.

NERVES OF GLASS

Several clips surfaced online showing Onana making error after error for former clubs, some of them from non-threatening opportunities, and several others from open play situations, which the average goalkeeper routinely handles game-in-game-out.

Was this the best a club of United’s calibre could have gotten?

Former United forward Dwight Yorke voiced his concerns at Erik Ten Hag’s choice for David de Gea’s replacement, warning that soon fans would be begging to have their four-time player of the Year back at Old Trafford:

“I’ve said before that Man United need to be careful what they wish for with losing David de Gea.

“In my opinion, Onana is not as good as De Gea, and people need to watch him very carefully. I’ve seen Onana before, the Premier League is a different kettle of fish with how fast the game is and how often you are pressured.”

Onana occasionally tries to play as an outfield player rather than a goalkeeper. I will be watching this guy very closely, and the people who have criticised De Gea and wanted him to leave will probably be the ones who will be calling him to come back. I’m hoping that doesn’t happen for Man United’s sake.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the Cameroonian to prove him right.

Ten minutes into his debut against Real Madrid in a pre-season encounter, Onana’s net nestled with literally the first shot he faced in United colours. At the same time, Jude Bellingham wheeled away in joyful celebrations.

He failed to impress in subsequent games either, and was beaten from the halfway line on his home debut against French side RC Lens, before ending up tangled in the back of his net.

Supporters were quick to make comparisons with De Gea, who also struggled during his first season following his transfer from Atletico Madrid. Still, unlike the Spaniard, the 27-year-old has shown scarcely any improvement since.

“WORST GOALKEEPER IN HISTORY”

Since the start of last season, no goalkeeper has made more errors leading to goals for Premier League clubs in all competitions than André Onana, with eight mistakes.

Despite joining only two years ago, he currently has the worst clean-sheet percentage and the second-worst save percentage among Manchester United goalkeepers to have played 900+ minutes since the 2003/2004 season, conceding a goal every 64 minutes.

In 101 appearances, Onana has only kept 24 clean sheets and has conceded a staggering 148 goals.

This led ex-United midfielder Nemanja Matic to label him as “statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United’s modern history” following his outspoken tirade in the build-up to their Europa League first-leg quarter-final against Olympique Lyonnais.

Unsurprisingly, Onana again proved his critics right in that same game by fumbling a simple free-kick delivery, which crept past him into the back of the net.

The Red Devils did progress to the semifinals, but several high-profile errors also occurred against Galatasaray and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Manchester City in the 2023/24 FA Cup Final, and especially against low-table teams in the Premier League, notably conceding directly from a corner against Wolverhampton Wanderers last December.

During Sir Alex Ferguson’s time in charge, opposing teams used to dread facing United, but now they lick their lips in delight as they face a goalkeeper who has so often appeared not to be on the same page as his teammates.

For United fans, this feels like night and day compared to the days of Alex Stepney, Peter Schmeichel, and Edwin van der Sar.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Onana may have been renowned for being involved during play, taking risks and building up attacks from the back, but everyone can admit that it has not quite worked out for either player and club.

His confidence is gone, his mistakes are constant, and his presence fails to inspire confidence among his teammates.

Perhaps it is time for a change, an environment with much less pressure than the weight of 1.1 billion fans and followers worldwide.

Interestingly, nearly all of United’s failures have gone on to play better football elsewhere, as evidenced by stellar performances from Memphis Depay, Gerard Piqué, Romelu Lukaku, Angel di Maria, and most recently, Mason Greenwood and Brazilian winger, Antony.

Even David de Gea and Scott McTominay have enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in Italy, with the latter winning MVP and the Scudetto this season with Napoli.

Regardless of Onana’s stance, Manchester United have now made every player on their books available for transfer ahead of the summer transfer window, as minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe shows no signs of slowing down his cost-cutting measures, even after authorising over 600 club redundancies since February.

The British billionaire could have done very well with the financial rewards of winning the Europa League, but instead, Onana conceded Spurs’ only shot on target in Bilbao, handing the North Londoners their first European title since 1971.

Surely, now is the time for Man United’s first-ever African goalkeeper to leave Old Trafford – not just for Onana, but for the good of Manchester United Football Club.

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Ivo Okeke

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