Andre Onana Deal: Manchester United’s Game-Changing Transfer Decision

Manchester United’s decision to replace goalkeeper David De Gea was not a surprise. The shock was that he left clasping the Golden Glove award for the most clean sheets in the league.

His 16 shutouts were two better than Liverpool FC’s Allison Becker, but if either player is honest those statistics are outliers in what have been a pair of unimpressive campaigns.

De Gea, who in seasons past has been the best goalkeeper in the league, made a slight acknowledgment of his personal lack of form upon receiving the award: “The golden glove is not just about me – we have been solid this season,” the Spanish keeper said.

Indeed if personal statistics were accounted for in the decision as to who is handed the prize for best goalkeeper he would never have won. De Gea made four errors leading to goals, which was the joint worse in the division, most egregious was his falling over the ball to allow a pea-roller from Said Benrahma to gift West Ham a 1-0 win towards the end of the season.

But it’s not even De Gea’s shot-stopping, which historically has been amongst the best in the world, that is behind Manchester United’s desire to jettison the goalkeeper, who at 32 still has a minimum of 3-5 years of elite-level soccer in him.

The problem is his feet. Despite hailing from a nation that pioneered the ball-playing goalkeeper, De Gea’s ability to contribute to the build-up has been exposed consistently under Ten Hag. Under his system, it’s crucial De Gea dictate possession and thread passes through the opposition lines under extreme pressure.

But this is simply not in the keeper’s skill, so much so that Ten Hag has been forced to adapt his tactics and have the goalie kick long.

Discussing the departure the Manchester United coach was diplomatic to the point of sounding cryptic. “Sometimes also, as a team, especially on the top, you move, it’s fluid, it’s dynamic, and you move in another direction, and it happens,” he said by way of an explanation.

Far more revealing has been Ten Hag’s discussion of the reasons for signing his replacement Andre Onana from Inter Milan for $60 million.

The Cameroon international is so committed to playing it out from the back he reportedly fell out with his national team coach and was dropped for the inflexibility.

Ten Hag, of course, knows all about him having managed Onana at Ajax and is banking on his possession-based abilities to make the difference. “Most important, always for a keeper, is clean sheets and he’s not doing that on his own,” said Ten Hag. ”You need a very good defensive organization, [it’s] quite clear.

But, nowadays, football also demands good playing from the back, out-playing qualities, and that is a quality Andre has. You need both and you need to cover both areas. So yeah, we’re happy, of course. “I think with his physical presence and also with his personality, he is so keen on winning. He’s so, so eager to win trophies and he will help the team and he will help the squad to get to higher levels.”

The Evidence of Ederson And Allison

Transfers involving goalkeepers rarely get supporters’ juices flowing or generate the same level of fees as those further up the field. But the evidence is abundant to show that improving this position results in a more substantial uplift than say spending $100 million on a tricky winger.

Glaringly obvious examples lie on the other side of Manchester and a short trip west in Liverpool. In Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge, Manchester City showed flashes of the dominant possession-based side they would eventually become. But far too often, the team was let down by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo who was either weak in his defensive actions or dallied on the ball.

Replacing him with Ederson Morales the following summer was absolutely critical in transforming the Citizens from an also-ran third-place team to runaway champions. It was a similar story on Merseyside, Liverpool reached a Champions League final with Loris Karius between the posts but a catastrophic display against Real Madrid made it certain the crown ended up in Spain.

That summer he was replaced by another Brazilian goalkeeper Allison Becker, who in the words of ex-Reds defender Jamie Carragher was one of the crucial differences in them going one better the next time around.

“[Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson] made the big difference between the teams really,” he said after Liverpool’s 0-2 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur. “The difference is that Liverpool have got the ability to go and change that by buying a goalkeeper for a world-record fee and the best center-back in the world. You need those players that will make the difference and they showed it.”

Onana joins Manchester United off the back of an incredible performance in the most recent Champions League final against Manchester City. Time and again his ability with the ball relieved the pressure on Inter Milan, enabling them to really test one of the greatest teams in world soccer. United and Ten Hag will be banking on such displays this season and, as Ederson and Allison have both demonstrated, that could be the key to elevating the Red Devils back to the top table of English soccer.