'Exceptional' Onana PRAISED ahead of Man Utd transfer

Cameron Smith

• 17 Jul 2023 09:15 BST
• 4 min read

Andre Onana is set to complete his transfer to Manchester United this week, with Erik ten Hag keen for the Cameroon shot-stopper to link up with the Red Devils first-team before they travel on the US pre-season tour on Wednesday, 19 July.

Onana, 27, will join the Old Trafford side from Inter Milan after a €50 million fee was agreed between the two clubs. He will replace David de Gea as the club’s first-choice number one after the Spaniard left upon his contract expiration on 30 June.

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Ten Hag hand-picked Onana as his number one transfer target this summer after the pair worked together at Ajax. Unlike De Gea, Onana is extremely comfortable in possession, something that Ten Hag demands of his goalkeeper.

It seems like a perfect fit given how Ten Hag wants to play and Onana has received praise from some of the biggest names in football.

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Praise for Onana

Via the Manchester Evening News, Onana’s former, and soon to be current, manager Ten Hag was full of praise for the Cameroonian following his return to action after being suspended by UEFA after he failed a doping test in 2021.

“Obviously he's not yet back at his level from before the suspension, but that can't be expected from him. He has to work hard to get there again and I'm convinced that he'll succeed. We've all seen that he is a masterful goalkeeper.”

Onana was handed a reduced nine-month sentence after the banned substance furosemide was found in his urine. The player explained that he had accidentally taken a pill containing the substance after mistaking his wife's medicine for aspirin.

Pep Guardiola is also an admirer of Onana and was full of praise in the build-up to the Champions League final. For the way they play, with the high press, Onana is an exceptional goalkeeper to take the position to build-up,” he said. “Really, really good.”

On Inter’s run to the Champions League final, Steven Gerrard was also quick to display how impressed he was with Onana. “He can wear the No.10 on his back and still play. He is like Ederson. All night he is getting pressed, he is under pressure, in sticky situations, he is just calm, collects and he can play long.

“He can also play short. I just love watching the 'keeper. Tonight he was fantastic,” the former Liverpool player revealed.

Both Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon have expressed their love for the Cameroonian too.

After Ajax’s loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 Champions League semi-final, Neuer sent Onana a video message saying: “Hey Onana, it is Neuer from Munich. I'm your biggest fan. You played a very good season for Ajax. You and your guys deserved to be in the final so don't be too sad, maybe you will get another chance in the future [to reach the Champions League final].”

At the start of this season, Buffon said: “As for Onana, he made it obvious from the start that his shoulders are broad enough to handle the Inter jersey.

“Fighting for position with Samir Handanovic is also a tough slog. I think right now both [Mike] Maignan and Onana are among the five best goalkeepers in the world.”