Onana is latest example of Man Utd problem Ratcliffe needs to address
It is almost that time of year when quizzes prove quite popular, so here is a question for Manchester United supporters.
Who was the last signing to establish himself as an unqualified success at the club? I’m going Bruno Fernandes. An irritant, yes, but a class player.
There are arguments to be made for Raphael Varane, for Christian Eriksen, for Lisandro Martinez, even for Casemiro, but they have all had their setbacks. If we are being scrupulously fair, it might be best to hold fire when judging some of the recruits in the last transfer window, although the signs right across that board are not promising.
Injuries have not helped £60million Mason Mount but he has made no sort of impact when he has been fit and playing. Rasmus Hojlund, for £72million, has shown a good deal of promise but the bottom line is that he has yet to score a Premier League goal and his five Champions League goals have all come in United defeats.
The £8.5million loan fee for Sofyan Amrabat is already looking lumpy and the £21.4million option-to-buy not overly enticing. As for Andre Onana, one or two more ugly mistakes will surely compel United to look for another keeper in the transfer window.
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No-one has kept more Premier League clean sheets than Onana this season and, apparently, he has the second-best save percentage - whatever that is - in the top flight. But while he did save an injury-time penalty against Copenhagen at Old Trafford, at least four major errors have been instrumental in United’s dismal Champions League qualification campaign.
Andre Onana had another night to forget after making two costly errors against Galatasaray (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY: Should United look to replace Onana? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Erik ten Hag will stick with Onana because, essentially, he is his man. Quite obviously, this signing belonged to the manager. But the acquisition of Onana and his subsequent performances have been symptomatic of the most significant malaise at Manchester United - staggeringly poor recruitment.
If and when Sir Jim Ratcliffe does eventually come in and take charge of the football operation, a complete overhaul of the recruitment process is required. It seems that, right now, Ten Hag does actually have the final say on transfers - particularly incoming ones - and that is the way it should be.
But judging by his eagerness to sign Onana and, in the previous summer, Antony, the United manager needs some strong help from the recruitment department. It is possible to be an elite coach - which Ten Hag might well prove himself to be - but not an elite judge of character.
Right now, the pressure of being United’s number one, for example, clearly weighs heavily on Onana. Managerial upheaval and off-the-field issues mean that Old Trafford has not always been an ideal environment for players to settle into.
Apart from the odd exception, integration for Manchester City’s signings over recent years has been impressively smooth - just look at the impact Jeremy Doku is having. That is mainly because City is a well-oiled winning machine with a brilliant manager.
But the simple fact is that City have bought well and United, quite spectacularly, have not. And Onana is merely the latest example of that failing.
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