Harry Maguire got a taste of Andre Onana’s fiery personality during pre-season. A pass from the Manchester United central defender put Christian Eriksen in trouble against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas. The error gave Sebastien Haller a chance and after Onana slotted home the shot, he immediately turned to berate Maguire, launching a tirade at the England defender, who was standing just yards away.
Onana was later criticized by former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher, who said the reprimand was “over the top”, but Man United manager Erik ten Hag didn’t mind at all . The club are confident that the strong character shown by their new number 1 that day – a new signing demanding higher standards from a senior player – will help them get through what has been a difficult start to life at Old Trafford.
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Maguire isn’t the only one to find himself on the receiving end of Onana’s wrath; During Inter’s Champions League match with FC Porto last season, cameras filmed him telling teammate Edin Dzeko to “shut up” before Hakan Calhanoglu tried to defuse the situation putting his hand over Onana’s mouth.
United’s recruitment department were impressed by Onana’s performances during Inter’s run to the Champions League final, but when the search for a goalkeeper to replace David de Gea was discussed with Ten Hag, it was Onana’s personality that set him apart from the other options on the list. , including David Raya and Diogo Costa. (It was the same when Ten Hag advocated for signing Lisandro Martínez and Casemiro a year earlier.)
The finer details of the deal to bring Onana to Old Trafford took longer than expected and he was late to join the summer tour of the United States. He arrived at the team hotel in rural New Jersey from JFK Airport in a minivan with heavily tinted windows, and the staff sent to greet him were taken aback by his beaming smile and entrance. enthusiastic despite an exhausting day of travel.
Onana has had a difficult first few months, but Ten Hag and his team hope they have chosen their new goalkeeper well and that his character will help him face life in detail. Despite a series of errors and scrutiny since his £47.2million move from Inter, the 27-year-old has remained an active member of the dressing room alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, particularly impressing his new teammates by the way he held his own. his mistake in the 4-3 defeat against Bayern Munich in September.
After letting Leroy Sané’s weak shot squirm into the net, Onana apologized to the locker room. Once Ten Hag finished speaking – during which he told the other players to remember the attitude Onana showed in admitting his mistake – he also contacted the club’s media team to tell them that it It was his job to speak publicly to the broadcasters. Onana spoke to four television crews in the main interview room at the Allianz Arena and offered the same heartfelt apologies each time before being taken away for another round of questions on the same topic.
What concerned the staff most about Onana’s performance against Bayern was not the mistake, but rather the time it took him to recover from it. Sane’s goal came in the 28th minute, and coaches noted that it wasn’t until the start of the second half — more than 30 minutes later — that he was back clapping and shouting instructions behind the defense.
Ten Hag on Onana’s Mistake: Don’t Make It Bigger Than It Really Is
Manchester United’s Erik Ten Hag talks about the team and Andre Onana’s performance after the 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich.
United are working with Onana to help him better deal with mistakes when they arise as well as on the technical side of his game, including stabilizing his feet more quickly to facilitate shots aimed low and around his body. It doesn’t help that he tends to get stuck on his goal line when opponents attack, and coaches have reminded him to adopt more aggressive stances to narrow the target.
He was brought to United. mainly due to his ability with the ball at his feet, with UEFA’s technical report on the Champions League final against Manchester City noting that he “displayed the passing range of a deep-lying midfielder “. After eight Premier League matches last season, according to ESPN Stats and Information Group, De Gea completed 134 of his 218 passes (61.47), while Onana reached 205 of 271 attempts (75.65%), sign that the Cameroon international tries to help the Ten Hag team play in a different way.
There was also the misplaced pass against Galatasaray that resulted in Casemiro being sent off en route to a shock 3-2 home defeat, but Ten Hag is aware that some of the teething problems are down to the rest of the team moving from one goalkeeper to another. who was careful in possession to another who wants to take risks.
Onana is so determined to ensure his success at United that he is reluctant to leave for a month at the start of the new year if he is called up by Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations. He told Ten Hag during negotiations that he had no intention of returning to international football following his fallout with Cameroon coach Rigobert Song at the World Cup in Qatar, but after pressure from the Cameroonian federation and government, Onana agreed to play the CAN final. qualifying match against Burundi in September.
There will be further discussions before the CAN begins in Ivory Coast in January, but it is admitted at Man United that it is very difficult for top Cameroonian footballers to turn down the chance to play in competitions major.
Turkish international Altay Bayindir also joined United from Fenerbahce this summer as an understudy and is waiting in the wings if Onana decides to go to the AFCON. Bayindir, 25, was brought in ahead of the young replacements due to his experience, and Ten Hag is prepared to move on if Onana’s form does not improve. Yet despite a shaky start, United are backing Onana to prove they were right to get rid of De Gea, Old Trafford’s first-choice goalkeeper for more than a decade, and bring in a replacement with a comprehensive package. different attributes.
Retired Man United star Gary Neville once said that due to pressure and scrutiny, being United’s goalkeeper is “the hardest job in English football”, but Ten Hag believes he found the right personality to take it on.