The international player from Cameroon is in a different league than David de Gea, and his dribbling and passing skills can change the way the Red Devils play.
After months of talks, Erik ten Hag has finally acquired the goalkeeper he’s been craving thanks to Manchester United’s completion of the transfer of Andre Onana for a cost of £48m ($61m) with his previous team Inter. Despite the Dutchman’s best efforts to support David de Gea throughout a season rife with gaffes, there was always the impression that he was protesting excessively and that he did not truly have faith in the Spaniard.
De Gea’s skill set was firmly stuck in the past, and despite winning the Golden Glove for keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League last season, it was evident that he was holding United back from moving in the new path that Ten Hag had in mind.
But Onana can guide United into the future. The Cameroonian played a significant role in Ten Hag’s most successful Ajax team, and he can assist the Red Devils in moving forward after a strong debut campaign under the Dutchman.
On the largest stage, stay ice cold
The loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup final was probably certainly the contest that persuaded Ten Hag and United that they needed to part ways with De Gea. At Wembley, the Spaniard repeatedly handed Pep Guardiola’s team the ball, and he was too sluggish to run over and stop Ilkay Gundogan from scoring the game-winning goal.
However, a week later, while watching City and Inter’s Champions League final, United saw the future there in front of them. Onana demonstrated masterful ball management and distribution under pressure in Istanbul.
After working with Onana for five years at Ajax, Ten Hag was already familiar with all of his traits. But United could now see that they needed to go all-in and sign the Cameroonian if they wanted to capitalize on the advancements they had achieved under the Dutchman.
Ability of a midfielder to pass
Onana performed as promised by Guardiola. He was seen dribbling outside of his area, in front of his center-backs, in the first minute of the championship. He casually chipped the ball to Federico Dimarco a little while later when Bernardo Silva ran to press him in his area.
With five City players in front of him and just one viable option to strike toward the end of the first half, Onana passed the ball with the ease of a top-tier holding midfielder straight to Marcelo Brozovic.
Many goalkeepers would have resorted to rapidly sending the ball forward late in the game, when Inter were desperately attempting to score an equalizer. Onana, though, stayed composed and brave, leaving his area with the ball at his feet and moving closer to the halfway line than his area to challenge Erling Haaland before finding Lukaku and launching a risky Inter assault.
Onana is not just good at short passing under duress; at one point in the second half, he took out seven City players with a curling pass to launch a counterattack. Onana outperformed his counterpart Ederson, who was formerly considered as one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers in the world, during the course of the entire 90 minutes with his passing and dribbling.
The secret of Ten Hag’s heyday at Ajax
Inter came dangerously near to defeating Guardiola’s team while European titans like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were destroyed by City, in large part due to the poise and control Onana afforded them in possession. But that is by no means the sole justification for why United should strive to sign the keeper.
For the duration of his tenure at Ajax, Onana was Ten Hag’s No. 1 player. During their time together, they won three Eredivisie championships, advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League, defeated Real Madrid, eliminated Juventus, and were heartbreakingly eliminated by Tottenham.
Onana, who initially traveled to Europe to play for Barcelona before switching to Jong Ajax, the young division of the Dutch giants, was essential to Ajax’s success under Ten Hag. He would frequently locate playmaker Frenkie de Jong to start offenses, and whenever his defense were put under duress, he would be there to help them escape.
Allowing United to play as Ten Hag sees fit
One of the main distinctions between Ten Hag’s Ajax and his United team’s play was the presence of Onana in Amsterdam and De Gea in his first season in Manchester.
However, after the shocking 4-0 loss at Brentford in the second game of the season, in which the Spaniard scored twice, the manager abandoned his plans to play possession-based football. The team was able to turn their season around by primarily playing pragmatist, counter-attacking football.
After his error against West Ham in April and his lackluster performance in the FA Cup final, Ten Hag stood by De Gea and defended him in front of the public. However, he occasionally expressed concern about the Spaniard’s kicking, as when he stated he could not ignore the errors following the match against Real Betis in March.
