What are Onana's strengths?

BINH DUONG

“Andre Onana plays as a holding midfielder. When he is in that position, we have a hard time,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said of his surprise performance against Inter Milan in the Champions League final in June. Onana is set to become United’s next number one goalkeeper after the club parted ways with David De Gea.

The Daily Mail, citing a well-informed source, confirmed that Man United and Inter Milan have reached a preliminary agreement for the Cameroonian goalkeeper. The Italian team accepted the $55 million offer from the "Red Devils". Thus, once again, coach Erik ten Hag wants to cooperate with a player he has worked with. Onana spent time as a goalkeeper for Ajax Amsterdam under Ten Hag, and together they won the Dutch domestic championship three times and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019. But why is coach Ten Hag eager to reunite with his old player?

Man United in the first season under Ten Hag often played from the penalty area and there were clear signs of improvement, thanks to the appearance of new centre-back Lisandro Martinez. However, the inherent mistakes combined with the lack of confidence in the ball with the feet of goalkeeper De Gea made the "Red Devils" pay the price many times.

Onana, on the other hand, has shown a great ability to develop the ball from the back. Compared to De Gea, Onana last season often kicked long balls into the opponent's defensive midfield area and also had a higher success rate in long passes to the strikers. Overall, Onana surpassed De Gea in almost every passing parameter. "The ability to play with the ball with his feet is the factor that made Onana famous at Ajax. Sometimes he has funny moves but usually he is excellent," shared Dutch football expert Marcel van der Kraan.

Onana joined Ajax at the age of 18 after leaving Barcelona. Despite some concerns about Onana’s overconfidence early in his career, former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar spotted a special talent in the “goalkeeper”. Van der Sar served as Ajax’s CEO from 2016 until May 2023.

In terms of goalkeeping, Onana was one of the stars of last season's Champions League, making some incredible saves in wins over Porto and AC Milan. Of the goalkeepers who have played at least 360 minutes in the Champions League, only Ederson of champions Manchester City has bettered Onana in terms of save percentage and clean sheet percentage.

Onana has been steadily improving since leaving the Netherlands last summer. The 2023 Champions League final was the perfect stage to remind the world of the 27-year-old's talent. Onana has a calmness to his game that was evident in the final. Onana can play as a sweeper, full-back or midfielder, but leave him in goal because that's where he plays best.

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