Assessing Man Utd's start to the Premier League season | Football Digest
Manchester United have been told that they made a significant mistake in the transfer window by allowing Dean Henderson and David de Gea to depart, according to former star Dwight Yorke. Andre Onana was signed as a replacement for the duo from Inter Milan in a deal worth £42million but he has struggled since making the move.
The Red Devils were beaten 4-3 by Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the Champions League, though the scoreline undersells the dominance of the Bundesliga outfit. Onana was at fault for the first goal on the night, failing to prevent a tame effort from Leroy Sane which spilled underneath him and into the back of the net.
The error was not the Cameroonian’s first mistake since joining United and questions are already being raised about his traditional goalkeeping ability. Erik ten Hag signed Onana predominantly for his ability with his feet and desire to play out from the back, though it may have papered over the cracks in his overall skillset.
Yorke believes that signing the 27-year-old was not the correct decision by his former side, instead believing that United should have tactically allowed Chelsea a free run at the goalkeeper. He told OLBG: “I will give Onana the benefit of the doubt, but the Premier League is different, you will get found out by playing in a high-profile team at a high-profile position. If Onana is not at the top of his game, he will get found out again.
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“It’s crazy that Chelsea had Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga and wanted another goalkeeper. We should’ve let Andre Onana go to Chelsea and Man United should’ve kept David de Gea and promoted Dean Henderson instead.
“These managers are forgetting the young players, they have to give them a chance. If you’re not giving someone who is supposedly England’s next big thing in goal when he is waiting in the wings, when will he be promoted?”
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Ten Hag has publicly defended his new No 1 and feels that he has the characteristics to bounce back from his shaking start, but selling Henderson to Crystal Palace for £15m to fund the move for Onana is already starting to look like another damaging piece of business.
“If De Gea is the problem, then we should’ve promoted Henderson,” Yorke continued. “He went and got valuable experience at Nottingham Forest, enough to make him a starter and De Gea would take a more rotated role.
“I won’t sit here and say Onana is 100 per cent better than De Gea. I think back to when I was a young player and trying to get in the team. If I went on loan to get experience and worked hard but still didn’t get promoted, I would be frustrated.”
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