Andre Onana has now been unveiled as Tranzonspor’s new goalkeeper for the season, bringing him a step closer to a Manchester United exit.
Whilst Ruben Amorim seemed set to stand by his first-choice shot-stopper at the start of the summer, his omission from the Premier League line-ups, and the deadline day signing of Senne Lammens spelt trouble for the Cameroon international.#
Despite the summer transfer window being shut for Premier League sides now, The Red Devils have still managed to negotiate a loan-deal with the Super Lig side as the Turkish window remains open for a few more weeks.
Now, with the former Old Trafford first-choice keeper headed from the club, we take a look at how he compares to United’s previous trusty shot-stoppers.
When looking at how Onana compares to his predecessors, we’re only looking at keepers through the Premier League era who have been routinely making apperances as the club’s top goalkeeper for more than a season.
As such in the list, we’re looking at Peter Schmeichel, Fabien Barthez, Tim Howard, Roy Carroll, Edwin van der Sar, David de Gea and Andre Onana, and you don’t have to wait much longer to find where we rank Onana.
7. Andre Onana
Andre Onana is coming at the bottom of our list, unfortunately, for a range of reasons, but first, we have to acknowledge the rest of the side.
United are in their worst state of the Premier League era, coming in 8th and 15th in consecutive seasons, both of which have been Onana’s only two seasons at the club, however they’ve also come with limited goalscoring strikers, being Rasmus Hojlund’s two years at the club, and with multiple injuries, and under the tenure of Erik ten Hag who’s recently been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after only two months.
Whilst these are all factors contributing to United’s recent failings, Onana also has to bear some of the blame, as last season, of all the Premier League goalkeepers, he recorded the most amount of mistakes directly resulting in goals being conceded. Unfortunately, we’ve routinely seen Onana make major mistakes with positioning, parrying the ball into danger, and being overly unpredictable, causing the defence to look anxious around him.
Admitedly, Onana was signed to try and help United build from the back, modernising their build-up play, having a playmaker style goalkeeper, with how Ederson and Alison have supported attacks at Manchester City and Liverpool. However, this hasn’t been felt on the pitch, with too many mistakes setting him at the bottom of our list.
6. Roy Carroll
Next up is Roy Carroll, and to discuss the elephant in the room first and foremost, his “ghost goal” against Tottenham Hotspur, where Pedro Mendes’ long-range strike crossed the line from Carroll’s mishandling.
Whilst Carroll was an impressive deputy, having an impressive clean sheet record of 27 in 49 Premier League appearances, he only had one major season as a first-choice goalkeeper for the 2004/05 season; however Edwin van der Sar’s arrival marked the end of his time at the club.
When he was called upon, barring a couple of examples, he always looked reliable, however his limited time as Sir Alex’s Ferguson’s top choice limits him from rising any higher in the list.
5. Tim Howard
Tim Howard arrived from MetroStars in 2003 as a replacement to Fabien Barthez, having an impressive debut season at the club, however his consistency didn’t last long.
Unfortunately, Howard was seemingly undone against Porto, when he parried a free kick into the path of Costinha on the brink of full-time saw the keeper’s consistency waver for the rest of his time at Old Trafford.
As such, the former USA international was routinely rotated with Roy Carroll, with the pair being dispatched when van der Sar arrived. Unfortunately for Sir Alex Ferguson, Everton got a much better version of Howard after he left Old Trafford, being routinely reliable, raising the question of if he joined United too early in his development.
4. Fabien Barthez
Fabien Barthez was undoubtedly ahead of his time as an “11th outfielder”, with his agility, penalty saves, impressive footwork and confidence making him a fan favourite at Old Trafford. Over his three seasons he helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s side win two Premier League titles, showing off impressive distribution and speed coming out off his line.
However, he wasn’t massively consistent, having too many high-profile lapses which ultimately saw him leave Old Trafford to re-join Marseille in 2004, first on loan and then permanently.
3. David de Gea
David de Gea is still United’s longest serving goalkeeper of the Premier League era, with his time at Old Trafford as the first-choice keeper spanning 12 years, the majority of which have been post Sir Alex Ferguson.
As such, the team as a whole haven’t been able to live up to the days of Ferguson’s Premier League dominance, however de Gea was routinely reliable in goal, saving the club on more than one occassion, becoming one of the world’s best.
Unfortunatley for de Gea, as the game modernised to see more keepers being able to distribute more cleanly and contribute to build-up play, his limitations in that side of the game began to show, ultimately seeing Erik ten Hag opt for Andre Onana over the Spanish keeper.
2. Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar was truly remarkable, ending the post-Peter Schmeichel era of struggling, inconsistent goalkeepers, bringing a calm, reliable feel to the pitch.
The former Netherlands international had flawless positioning, was composed under pressure and could easily distribute to maintain possession. helping the side win four Premier Leagues and the Champions League in 2008. Now, Edwin van der Sar is being rightfully recognised as a shortlisted nominee for the Premier League Hall of Fame.
However, t can’t really be put better than Sir Alex Ferguson said in his autobiography: “We had a bad period trying to replace Peter Schmeichel. It’s maybe not my strong point. It wasn’t until we brought in Edwin that we got back to the level we had with Peter. Edwin was a great buy for us, absolutely brilliant. Looking back, I just wish we’d got him when Peter decided to leave.”
Which naturally brings us to…
1. Peter Schmeichel
Obviously Peter Schmeichel is the top of our list. He is the benchmark which Manchester United keepers are compared to, helping to solidify the defence for Sir Alex Ferguson’s lengthy dominant Premier League run.
With five Premier League titles between 1991 and 1999, finishing his time at Old Trafford with the historic double in 1999 against Barcelona, Schmeichel was exceptional in bringing his confidence to the game, unsettling attackers, shutting down one-vs-ones, and contributing to build-up play long before the modern style playmaker goalkeepers were a thing.
His place at the top of list is also highlighted as only one of two goalkeepers to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, alongside Peter Cech, however van der Sar could well be joining him very soon.
