Manchester United legend Lee Sharp has criticized the Red Devils for replacing David De Gea with Andre Onana, saying United’s handling of the situation was poor.
Erik ten Hag and Co. decided against renewing 2022-23 Golden Glove winner De Gea’s contract in the summer, thus marking the end of his 12-year-long chapter at Old Trafford. United replaced the Spaniard with Cameroonian goalkeeper Onana, signing him for a $62 million fee from Italian giants Inter Milan.
So far, Onana has failed to justify his lofty price tag, with him making frequent mistakes and hurting United’s chances of putting up decent results on the board.
Sharpe Slams Manchester United’s Amateurish Treatment Of De Gea
Like many, Sharpe has been disappointed with what he has seen so far from Onana. Speaking to AGamble.com, Sharpe indicated that Ten Hag’s decision to remove De Gea was already being questioned by key figures at the club.
He said (via GOAL):
“I know De Gea took a lot of criticism for some of the mistakes that he was making but he was also, up until last year, the players’ players of the year and the supporters’ player of the year for three years in a row, so he was an incredible goalkeeper. I think the way they brought Onana in and ushered him out of the door was a little bit amateur as well.
“There’s probably a few people that are questioning the decision, and it’s only natural when the replacement comes in and makes more mistakes than the guy that has gone out, you’ve got to question if the recruitment team has made the right decision, and at the moment it’s very dubious if they have.”
Onana Made A Big Blunder In Defeat To Galatasaray
Following a poor display in the 4-3 defeat against Bayern Munich on Matchday 1 of the 2023-24 Champions League season, Onana needed a spotless performance against Galatasaray on Matchday 2 (October 4). Unfortunately for the Old Trafford faithful, that did not turn out to be the case.
Onana demonstrated poor awareness and execution in the 77th minute of the game, giving the ball straight to Dries Mertens just outside the penalty box. As a result, Casemiro was forced to tackle the attacker, which led to the Brazilian’s second yellow and a penalty for Galatasaray. Mauro Icardi dragged the penalty wide but beat Onana with a chip a few minutes later, sealing a 3-2 victory for the visitors.
The Cameroon international has played 10 matches so far for United, keeping just three clean sheets and conceding 18 goals.
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