Andre Onana has been told his time at Manchester United will soon be over – unless he can stop making “big mistakes”. Ruben Amorim dropped Onana for United’s 4-1 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday after he made two high-profile errors against Lyon in the Europa League.
Onana’s blunders mean the quarter-final tie is finely poised at 2-2, but Amorim has decided to recall the goalkeeper after his replacement Altay Bayindir was at fault for one of Newcastle’s goals at the weekend during the 4-1 thrashing.
“I try to do things that can help a player in this situation,” Amorim explained. “So sometimes we talk about managing players physically, we have to manage them also mentally. But then, they have to return to competition and Onana is ready. He had one weekend that I felt it was better for him to not play, and a good thing for Altay, and this week, my thinking was to put Onana to play.”
Amid his struggles, there have been suggestions that United will look to sign a new goalkeeper this summer to replace the ex-Inter Milan stopper. And former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison believes that United’s history of having “great goalkeepers” means that Onana is perhaps judged more harshly.
“You know what? I don’t think he’s a bad goalkeeper,” Morrison told FreeBets. “The problem is he makes some good saves, he’s good with his feet, but when he makes mistakes, it costs Man United and everyone highlights it. And that’s the problem at the moment.
“You can’t be playing for a club like Man United and keep making those big mistakes after the great goalkeepers they’ve had before, because everyone will judge you on the previous goalkeepers because that’s the football club, you’re still a massive football club in Man United.
“So, yeah, I don’t know. It’s a difficult one because. Will they go and shop in the market in the summer for a new goalkeeper? Well, they paid a lot of money for him and he’s on big wages, so they have a decision to make.
“Maybe they stick with him for another season, and try to get his confidence back. I don’t think he’s totally a bad goalkeeper. I just think at the moment he’s going through a bad moment and making a lot of mistakes and he’s getting punished.”
Amorim has backed Onana to impress when he returns for the second leg against Lyon. When asked if the decision to drop him and then recall him has just put more pressure on the former Inter Milan star, Amorim said: “That is the dilemma. This is the big factor about being a coach – everything you do has two ways. If he is going to be really good tomorrow, I am sure of that, but if it is the other way, then people will say it was a bad decision.
“I’m trying to be really simple, not overthinking. I see Andre and he had one weekend of rest. I just think first of all, as a coach and also as a former player, I try to do things that help a player in this situation.
“Sometimes we talk about managing players physically, but we also have to do it mentally – but then they also have to return to competition. This week my thinking was to put Onana back in to play again tomorrow.”
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