Manchester United ignored Dwight Yorke’s advice regarding Andre Onana and David de Gea, with the Red Devils discovering “the grass is never greener”.
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Former striker never convinced by CameroonianHas seen him struggle in English footballLinks to Arsenal shot-stopperWHAT HAPPENED?
The former United striker said in July that fans at Old Trafford would be “begging” to have their long-serving Spanish goalkeeper back after releasing him as a free agent and investing £48 million ($58m) in luring Cameroon international Onana away from Inter.
Advertisement(C)GettyImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Little value has been found in that deal, with Onana enduring an error-strewn start to life in English football. Yorke has told investment data analysis platform of big decisions made in a vital area of the field: “They always say the grass is never greener on the other side. I told everybody that they should be careful what they wish for! Managers are there to make tough decisions and they have their own ideas on who they select in their team. Erik ten Hag made the decision to get rid of De Gea and bring in Onana. If you study Onana, and I'm sure Ten Hag did, you'll see there's a massive risk with the way he plays – especially in the English game.
“It's totally different, and you thought Onana would have known that by now. There are a lot of crosses and a lot of passes in and around the box and you need a goalkeeper who can handle those situations. Yes, you need a 'keeper who wants to play out from the back, and that's Onana's philosophy. It's high-risk, high reward. It's brilliant when it works, but when it doesn't, it looks like the manager has got his selection totally wrong. It's clear to see that the goalkeeping department has been a massive struggle for United. Managers can look like the fool sometimes by bringing someone in who doesn't work. I was at the club when Sir Alex brought Massimo Taibi into the side, and he didn't quite work out. The manager did, however, realise that very quickly. I'm not sure if Ten Hag will do that, or if he's stubborn enough to back Onana. We don't know.”
WHAT THEY SAID
Onana has already seen a return to Inter speculated on, with United being linked with England international Aaron Ramsdale after seeing him slip behind David Raya in the pecking order at Arsenal. Yorke added on those rumours and how things could play out from here: “We can speculate about Ramsdale coming in, but Onana has a five-year deal! Where's he going to go? Who's going to take him after those mistakes? You deal with those challenges as a manager. The player may not want to go, even if the manager does, because they've got a better contract at their current club and it's hard to replace them after they leave. The owners can also get involved by asking you if you trust the goalkeeper you've just brought in to replace your old one. There are a lot of things you have to consider as a manager. Onana has not got off to the best possible start. We'll watch him with intent, but soon we have the AFCON coming up, and that might be a get-out clause for him! We'll see. I think the next few months will be interesting to see. United are struggling and they're low on confidence. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out as this could go south very quickly. It'll be fascinating to watch!”
GettyWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Onana has made 11 appearances for United in all competitions, with 19 goals conceded across those outings. He has kept just three clean sheets and will be aware that De Gea – who remains without a club – has been spotted back in Manchester over recent weeks.