Given how different Manchester United’s season has been thus far from expectations going into the campaign, it appears likely that they will participate in the Europa League the following year.

When a team undertakes a complete rebuild like the Red Devils, inconsistency is to be expected, but their summer spending of slightly over £170 million demonstrated a definite purpose of progress.

Man Utd’s Rasmus Hojlund Premier League
Rasmus Hojlund was brought in to fill the striker position, and Mason Mount—though he has been out due to injury—bolstered the midfield.

The most talked-about position, though, was custodian, where Andre Onana joined when longtime stopper David De Gea left, though the Spaniard had a difficult time adjusting to life in Manchester.

David De Gea Man joined the Premier League
Initial thoughts on Andre Onana

After Inter was defeated by Manchester City in the Champions League final in the summer, Onana left the club. With Erik ten Hag searching for a new number one, he reconnected with the former Ajax keeper as he joined the Red Devils for an astonishing £47.2 million.

Onana’s ability to adjust and succeed in England was put to the test after just one Premier League game. He faced a whopping 23 shots from Wolverhampton Wanderers, making six stops to keep the score from rising to 0.78 goals.

United Manchester-Andre-Onana
But for the remainder of 2023, the Cameroon international’s play began to flag, as he committed several mistakes, most notably in the Champions League matches against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray’s two legs.

The fact that Roy Keane, a hero at United, called Onana “the biggest disappointment” in the Premier League as a result of those mistakes shows just how difficult it was for him to adjust to his new surroundings.

Sky-Sports Initial Thoughts

When they came, what did fans and commentators alike think of their new star signing? The ‘First Impressions’ segment on Football FanCast contains all the information you require.

Recently, Andre Onana has performed

Onana has been among United’s finest players recently, though, which emphasises how quickly opinions can shift in response to an individual’s performance.

Liam Canning, a developer of football content, called the goalie’s performance against Manchester City “utterly brilliant.” He made four saves in the box and stopped 0.66 goals. Journalist Josh Bunting called the goalkeeper “superb.”

Andre Onana, United Manchester
Additionally, the former Inter player’s stats for the full Premier League season are favourable; according to StatmanDave, he made the third most saves, the second most clean sheets, and prevented four goals with his efforts in goal.

All of this is occurring while he faces the third-highest number of shots per game in the league; only Sheffield United and Luton Town allow more shots on goal than United, underscoring the fact that he is always up against the opposition.

As the table below illustrates, that was the case once more last Saturday when Man United defeated Everton 2-0 at Old Trafford.

Everton against Onana

Statistics

Uponana

Goals given up

0

Preserves

Six

keeps within the box

4

Objectives avoided

0.99

Excessive assertions

2.

Verifications

1.

Pass keys

1.

Through Sofascore

With every game that passes, Onana’s impact on the squad grows. His six saves over the weekend stopped one goal, allowing the Red Devils to cross the finish line.

The number 24’s self-assurance is also gradually growing back; he demonstrated this by taking initiative and making two bold claims in addition to one clearing. With his long passing range, Onana also made a crucial pass that let United move up the pitch and stopped Everton from fielding a particularly high line.

Andre Onana, United Kingdom
Overall, Onana is now living up to the high expectations placed on him as De Gea’s replacement and his price tag; his elite mentality allows him to move past his mistakes.