Man Utd legend blames Ten Hag ‘system’ on ‘incredible’ player’s difficult start to life at Old Trafford
Man Utd legend Peter Schmeichel shares his thoughts on Andre Onana
Man Utd legend Peter Schmeichel has backtracked on his criticism of Andre Onana, amid reports claiming the Red Devils are looking to sign a new goalkeeper.
Onana endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford after making the £42.7m move from Inter Milan in the summer, making multiple errors early on.
In a 2-1 win over Brentford in October, the Cameroon international failed to stop a weak shot from Mathias Jensen that was almost in the centre of his goal.
“The goalkeeper is not covering himself in glory in that one,” Schmeichel said about Onana’s blunder.
“I think a lot of that is pressure. I spoke to him after Bayern (Munich) and I spoke to him after the other Champions League match against Galatasaray as well.
“He’s very down on the mistakes he’s made. And now he’s upset the whole team. Now they will even more not trust him, and my god, it’s not good.”
‘Are Man Utd good enough to play out from the back?’
Schmeichel has now changed his opinion on Onana, backing the shot-stopper to succeed if Erik ten Hag begins to field a consistent backline.
The Dane admitted that several factors are to blame for the 27-year-old’s lacklustre first half of the season with Man Utd.
“I think it would be difficult for anyone coming in goal for Manchester United,” Schmeichel told Up Front With Simon Jordan.
“Why do you bring Andre Onana in? Well, his ability with his feet is incredible. We saw that with Inter Milan last season but that was well drilled into that team.
“That was a clear system of how they played and a clear way of how he was contributing to that team. He’s come in to a lot of confusion. How is the team playing? Are they supposed to play it out from the back every time?
“Are the players good enough to play it out? Is the system well-drilled enough to play the ball out from the back every time? I don’t think it is.
“I think a lot of things have hampered that development. Of course there have been injuries to a lot of the defenders so it’s been difficult. The pairings in front of him… I think he’s got about 12 or 14.”
With Lisandro Martinez now back from injury, Man Utd fans will hope that their team starts to look more defensively solid as a whole moving forward.
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