Manchester United are reportedly going to have a new first-choice goalkeeper next season. According to multiple football outlets, Inter Milan’s Andre Onana has emerged as the replacement for David De Gea next season.
The Spaniard has been at Old Trafford for the last 12 years. However, he has not signed a new deal at the club and is now officially a free agent. De Gea has been among many players rumoured to go to Saudia Arabia this summer. This is a surprise considering the former Atletico Madrid man won the Premier League Golden Glove last season. However, his performances have declined from what they were four to five years ago.
So, how will Onana fare at Manchester United and will he be an upgrade on De Gea? Only time will tell, but here we explain why he will succeed.
Ball playing ability
Onana was arguably the best goalkeeper in the world last season. One of the biggest reasons behind his evolution is his ball-playing ability. The Cameroonian keeper reminds us a lot of Manuel Neuer in his prime years at Bayern Munich when he was a perfectionist in the sweeper role.
Onana has been an evolution in the sweeper role. It is almost as if there is one man extra in defence when his team has the ball. He is extremely comfortable on the ball, which has not been the case with De Gea. The Spaniard struggled to play out of defence even in his prime years. He was always known for his incredible shot-stopping ability, which has declined recently.
Worked with Erik ten Hag before
Erik ten Hag has developed a reputation that he can only trust the players he has worked with before. In his time so far at Manchester United, he has bought Tyrel Malacia, Antony, and Lisandro Martinez. All those players have worked with the Dutchman before and featured regularly for the Red Devils last season.
Onana was at Ajax from 2016 to 2022 before joining Inter Milan. His goalkeeping ability has evolved mainly due to ten Hag and his coaching staff. Considering he has worked with the former Ajax manager and wants to work with him again, it shows many signs of optimism. It has also been reported that the Cameronian goalkeeper rejected moves from Saudia Arabia to force a move to Manchester United this summer. Hence, he will come to the club for the right reasons.
Stats don’t lie
Apart from sentimental values, a player can only be measured based on his metrics. If we compare Onana’s stats recently with De Gea, the 27-year-old wins it in almost every category.
Onana ranks exceptionally high in the Big 5 European leagues. Regarding the saving percentage, Onana had 76% compared to De Gea’s 71%. Similarly, he has conceded 0.95 goals per game compared to Spaniard’s 1.1. The most significant stat that makes him an upgrade on De Gea is the crosses stopped. Onana stopped 6.1% of the crosses compared to De Gea’s 3.1. Although De Gea had more clean sheets than the 27-year-old last season, there is no question that Onana is a better goalkeeper in terms of ability.
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