Manchester United’s self-inflicted issue is letting down £44m man

Man Utd’s Andre Onana believes he had a ‘turning point’ this season and now his teammates must do more to help him.

Andre Onana was good value when speaking to journalists in the mixed zone on the opening day of the season and he came across well again after the Nottingham Forest game.

“I already know the goalkeeper that I am. It took me six months or seven months not to play good, just to feel good,” Onana told the Manchester Evening News and two other journalists.

“It was a difficult time for me. Now I’m feeling a bit better. Everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home because [of] so many reasons; new country. Now I’m feeling good. I don’t want to talk about performance because I know the goalkeeper I am and I have done in much more than what I just did so, for me, the most important thing is to be set, to be happy and I will shine.”

He continued: “Everything is behind me, now we have to move on and together a great time will come. We just have to do the right thing and the future will be brilliant for all of us.

“I had a turning point – but not on the pitch. Like I said… more mental. Of course, last season I moved from Amsterdam to Milan but that adaptation was quite easy. But it took me seven, eight months here. It was just time to learn and go game by game. I hope we will end on top.”

Onana make a few high-profile mistakes in the first half of the season and he was particularly culpable in the Champions League group stage, despite save a penalty against Copenhagen. The 27-year-old had conceded more goals by December than he did throughout the entirety of last season with Inter Milan (36) and that inevitably tested his confidence.

Onana discussed his ‘mental turning point’ on Wednesday night, but the turning point on the pitch perhaps came at Anfield when he kept a clean sheet against Liverpool. He became the first goalkeeper in the league to prevent Liverpool from scoring at home and his form has steadily improved since, with Onana having made a strong start to 2024.

Although Fulham won 2-1 against United last weekend, Onana made a string of important saves and the game could have been decided sooner if not for his interventions. He looks to have grown in confidence, but his outfield teammates must do more to help him because he’s currently being asked to make too many saves per game.

United have conceded 435 shots in the Premier League this season and only Sheffield United, who are bottom, have conceded more. The backline is asking too much of Onana and United must address that issue to give him a chance to keep more clean sheets.

The Golden Glove award is not an accurate gauge of a goalkeeper’s ability because it’s a collective defensive effort, but Onana has kept the second joint most clean sheets this term (7). Only Ederson, David Raya and Jordan Pickford (8) have recorded more and Onana could potentially claim the award, despite United enduring a disappointing campaign.

While that seems unlikely, Onana is performing better and he’s looked like the ‘keeper United thought they were signing last summer after a wonderful Champions League showing. The No.1 role at Old Trafford comes attached with immense pressure and Onana seems to have come through the storm, which has led to a better forecast for his time in Manchester.