admin David de Gea was a departure from the norm when United chose him as their numberone goalkeeper and they made thewisedecision with Andre Onana.
Andre Onana is the same age as Peter Schmeichel when he joined Manchester United in 1991. Althoughnotexactly a spring chicken, Schmeichel,27,is an unknown outside of Denmark.
Ferguson had tried to sign Schmeichel two years earlier, but balked at the fee Brondby demanded. Goalkeepingcoach Alan Hodgkinson was sent to watch Schmeichel in six matches at club and international level and rated the Dane asEurope’s best goalkeeper.
Hodgkinson describes Schmeichel as “kingsize” and predicts he will be an “absolute star” at United. Ferguson bought Schmeichel for £505,000 and he was number1 in his first two bigteams in the 90s.[][] Ferguson later recountedthat Schmeichel was”screaming like a pig” about the physical nature of Wimbledon’s Jurassic tactics. Ferguson usedthisdefensive mechanism after David de Gea’s Premier League debut against West Brom.
De Gea lets Shane Longmakeamasterfulsave;amistakesimilar to thatofthe FA Cup final winnerIlkayGundogan. In the second half, De Gea was annoyed by the setpiecesandwasimposedby Paul Scharner.
De Gea is only 20 and there is always an element of risk whenFergusonoptsforaninexperiencedgoalkeeper in his senior career havingspent 18 months playingregularly at Atletico Madrid. During De Gea’s first 18 months at United,therewereworryingslumps, but he turnedout to be Ferguson’s last major signing.
Schmeichel with De Gea at Wembley after the Cup final in June.Their exchange appeared cordial from afar, but Schmeichel, so rude in his professionalparlancethat he referred to United as ‘we’, had previouslycriticized De Gea on the BBC.
De Gea was a departure from the norm before Ferguson’s succession plan. He wanted Edwin van der Sar to replace Schmeichel in 1999, but United signed Mark Bosnich, who,coincidentally,was also 27.
Fabien Barthez arrived a year later at the age of 28 andwhen Van der Sar arrived at United, he was 34. The vibrant Van der Sar would go on to play in two more international tournaments and spend six yearsatUnited.
United’sreturn to seasoned goalkeeper Onana is understandable giventhat their responsibilitieshave now doubled. The best defensive players have to be attacking assets and De Gea hasbeen eclipsed by Alisson and Ederson over the past five years.
Onana came from the Barcelona academy and made a name forhimself at Ajax, two culturallylinked clubs under Johan Cruyff. Byfar, Onana is the best and most suitable external candidate to replace De Gea.
The prospect of Man United handing another 20-year-old player now always seemsfar-fetched.Bart Verbruggen, 20, is on their radar but Brighton is a more suitable starting point for his career in England.
There is nostrongersupport than signing forBrighton, but Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma, Leandro Trossard, Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo et al. has the advantage of playing under attack-minded coaches with little pressure and littlesupervision. So is Verbruggen.
Onana will have an idea of whatwillhappen at United, but nothing can prepare him for the close scrutiny and harsh criticism when he makesmistakes.All eyes will be on him during the 15-minute training session that opens to the media in New Jersey on Friday and articles will be posted on his debut, whether at MetLife Stadium against Arsenal on Saturday or in Houston against Real Madrid next week.
Onana will have to researchthe teams thathave put himon the list and there arenoother’Unitedgoalkeepers’on the list. Jordan Pickford’s representatives amplified the speculation as David Raya and Robert Sanchez joined the conversation as they ruled De Gea from the Spain squad.
Pickford has become a steadier ‘keeper in the last 18 months but his level is not that far above Premier League relegation fodder. Of the three, Sanchez possibly ticks most of the boxes yet he was dropped for Brighton’s run-in and replaced by the journeyman Jason Steele. Raya, valued at £40million by Brentford, is good with his feet but suspect with his hands.
Onana is among the world’s top 10 goalkeepers. As Schmeichel was in 1991.
