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It has been another difficult campaign for Andre Onana this season, and one of Manchester United’s greatest-ever goalkeepers has had his say
Andre Onana has received huge support from Manchester United great Edwin van der Sar and been told he’ll become a key player at the club for years to come.
Onana’s time at Old Trafford has been punctuated with an incredible save one week and a horror mistake the next. The Cameroonian was at fault when United lost 3-1 at home to Brighton and Hove Albion, spilling a harmless-looking cross from Yasin Ayari, giving Georginio Rutter an open goal to tap home a third for the Seagulls.
Ruben Amorim has so far remained loyal to the shot-stopper, who arrived from Inter Milan as part of a £47.2million deal in the summer of 2023.
Van der Sar, who knows Onana well from their time together at Ajax, believes he will remain United’s No.1 goalkeeper for a long time despite his worrying inconsistency since joining.
While speaking to Mirror Football at bet365’s Never Ordinary Watchalong in London this week, Van der Sar said: “Of course I worked closely with Andre.
“He was brilliant at Ajax when he started as a young player. He gained experience at the club and then at Inter. I’m sure with the qualities that he has, the reactions, he’s going to be, for a long time, Manchester United number one.”
Onana kept his place between the sticks for United’s 1-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage but was on the bench for the Red Devils’ Europa League victories over Rangers and FCSB. The Manchester Evening News recently claimed Amorim wants the Red Devils to sign another goalkeeper to push Onana to another level.
The Portuguese manager has used Bayindir in the cup competitions, but the outlet claims the Turkish international is not considered to be a credible rival to Onana. United also have 39-year-old Tom Heaton within their ranks, but the former England international is set to depart the club when his contract expires in the summer.
With their goalkeeping situation looking unlikely to change at this present moment, Amorim recently told both of his shot-stoppers that the No 1 space is an open battle between the pair of them.
Before United’s recent victory over Fulham, Amorim, when asked about his decision to play Bayindir against Rangers, said in a press conference: “It is always an even fight but this was rotation, it was prepared. I also think about the mistake and the idea I think about is the message I send to you guys and the fans.
“The rotation was done and everything was prepared, and we will deal with that normally. We have two really good goalkeepers, and they need time to play, the space in the team.
“So this rotation was prepared but that mistake was my concern and, in the end, we continue with the same plan that we did last week. I see him in the same way, and he is prepared to help the team in the right way and that is the most important thing.”
Despite Onana’s struggles in recent weeks, Van der Sar’s backing will no doubt give be a confidence booster heading into Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace.
Edwin van der Sar was speaking on behalf of bet365, the Official Global Partner of the UEFA Champions League. To celebrate the partnership, bet365 is giving away free tickets to the knockout phases as part of The Big UEFA Champions League ticket giveaway. Visit www.bet365.com for more information.
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