Rio Ferdinand expects goalkeeper Andre Onana to give Manchester United ‘more confidence’ but has warned there will likely still be ‘mistakes’ as the team adjusts to a new style of playing out from the back.
David de Gea’s departure after 12 years was confirmed on Saturday after the Spaniard’s contract had expired at the end of last month and no new one was fully signed. The terms on a £200,000 per week deal had been agreed and signed on the player’s side, only for the club to later withdraw it.
Although arguably the best goalkeeper in the world between 2014 and 2017, De Gea had become increasingly error prone. There were also concerns about the 32-year-old’s distribution and his unease in an increasingly modern and progressive playing style under Erik ten Hag.
United are on course to make Ten Hag’s former Ajax stopper Andre Onana their new number one. Two bids, the latter reaching €50m (£43m), have been turned down by Inter but there is expected to be a compromise below Inter’s €60m (£51m) demands and 90min understands United are hoping to have a deal finalised in time for Onana to travel to Norway with the squad for the opening game of pre-season against Leeds on 12 July. The next friendly is in Edinburgh a week later.
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Ferdinand, who spent 12 years with United and won six Premier League titles, is supportive of the push for Onana and the skillset the Cameroonian will bring.
“He’ll give United more confidence and more ability to play out from the back and I think he suits an Erik ten Hag team,” the retired defender said on his FIVE YouTube channel.
“He’s a real modern-day goalkeeper. You see teams pressing him and he doesn’t even panic. He gets the ball in, brings on the press, says ‘come on, come to me’ and when that player comes to him, he knows there’s a [teammate] free somewhere else and he normally finds them.
“I think there will be mistakes and playing that risky way you do have mistakes…that happens, but it’s about staying true to your beliefs, finding the right balance and remaining calm throughout those periods.”
WATCH NOW
On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders and Rob Blanchette discuss why Manchester United want Andre Onana to be their new goalkeeper. If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast in audio format!
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