Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana is in the spotlight again after his error led to Ipswich Town taking an early lead in their Premier League game on Wednesday evening.
United rallied and eventually won the game 3-2 despite being down to 10 men, but the mistake has reignited the debate about the Cameroon international.
The 28-year-old endured a tough start to life at Old Trafford but appeared to have turned a corner earlier this season when he had the most clean sheets in England’s top flight with six.
However, four minutes into the game against the Tractor Boys, he illustrated why United fans and pundits have persistent doubts about him.
He dashed to the edge of his penalty area as Patrick Dorgu ran towards him and, as the left wing-back nudged the ball towards where he expected Onana to be, it gifted Jaden Philogene with a tap-in.
The former Aston Villa winger later scored his second of the night from a deep cross that deceived Onana because of Liam Delap’s run across him.
Speaking on TNT Sports, former Blackburn and Wales midfielder Robbie Savage said: “I’ve got no idea why Onana is running out to that position [for the first goal].
“Dorgu has got it under control, no problem at all. He shouldn’t come there.
“You should be talking, lay it back to him on his right foot and then he can clear it. I don’t know why he’s come.”
Former United defender Rio Ferdinand added: “It was a terrible start. Onana doesn’t need to come. The full-back is in complete control and he can just hold his ground and let him play it back to him.”
On BBC Radio 5 Live, former Celtic boss Neil Lennon added: “I don’t know where Andre Onana is going. It is a shambles.”
Onana’s blunders return to fore
United paid £47m to sign Onana from Inter Milan in the summer of 2023 as a replacement for four-time club player of the year David de Gea.
But he has largely failed to shake the view that his occasional fallibility adds to the fragility of a struggling side.
Onana made several glaring mistakes in the Champions League last term that contributed heavily to United’s early exit from the competition at the group stage.
There had already been notable errors against Viktoria Plzen, Brighton and Nottingham Forest this season prior to the Ipswich game as he has slipped down in the race for the Golden Glove.
His performance in the 1-0 defeat at Tottenham, where he pushed Lucas Bergvall’s tame effort straight into the path of goalscorer James Maddison, encouraged further scrutiny.
His understudy, Turkey’s Altay Bayindir, has played just seven times since joining in September 2023 and is yet to start a Premier League game.
Onana’s form and the reluctance to use Bayindir prompts questions about the decision to let De Gea, Dean Henderson and Czech Republic goalkeeper Matej Kovar to leave for less than half the amount Inter were paid for their goalkeeper.
De Gea, 34, who has won 45 caps for Spain and is now at Fiorentina in Serie A, is the obvious barometer.
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