Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana is under serious fire for his performances since joining from Inter this summer. Mark Goldbridge, presenter for talkSPORT and The United Stand, made an incredible claim regarding his abilities when he signed for the Red Devils.
What's the latest news involving Man Utd and Onana?
Onana joined Manchester United for a fee of £47.2 million in the summer from San Siro, signing a five-year deal with the option to extend his stay for an extra 12 months at Old Trafford, and high expectation has been bestowed on the shoulders of the Cameroon international.
He was partially at fault for Galatasaray striker Mauro Icardi's winning goal on Tuesday night, just moments after being spared by a missed penalty, in what turned out to be a disappointing 3-2 defeat for Manchester United at home in the Champions League.
Icardi raced later through and scooped the ball over Onana, who had already hit the deck in no man's land, claiming all three points for the visitors and ensuring that the Red Devils' campaign was to go from bad to worse.
Earlier on in proceedings, Onana was culpable for Casemiro's sending off and the resulting spot kick after his loose backpass was capitalised on by Dries Mertens, who ran through on goal before being taken out by the Brazilian enforcer, who received his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
Red Devils boss Erik Ten Hag has indicated that he will speak with Onana and back him to show his best form, stating in his post-match press conference: "I have to talk with more players, but I also have to talk with Andre of course. I will do and I will back him, because he’s a great goalkeeper."
What did Mark Goldbridge say about Onana?
Presenter Goldbridge made some pretty bold claims when Onana joined Manchester United and indicated that he would be a "transformative" signing for the club, which is yet to be evidenced by his performances on the pitch.
Speaking on The United Stand Youtube channel at the time, the media personality stated: "What is without doubt is that this is a really good signing. This will be a transformative signing for Manchester United with Onana, I think he’s got the personality."
He later added: "I do think he’s transformative, and it’s not just about passing out from the back, I think he’s got a lot of really good attributes for a goalkeeper that stand up against the best in the world."
Onana has shipped 18 goals in nine appearances across all competitions, and from his two outings in the Champions League, the 27-year-old has saved just 53.8% of his 13 shots faced, indicating he has plenty of room for improvement between the sticks at Old Trafford, as per FBRef.
Against Galatasaray, Onana also only completed 21 of his 37 attempted passes during the encounter, equating to a 57% hit rate in finding one of his teammates successfully, leading some to question his ability on the ball even though he is renowned for having a calm head in possession, as per Sofascore.
High-profile mistakes against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, coupled with shaky displays against Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he was lucky not to concede a penalty in the latter, haven't helped his case, though he is far from the only player at fault for Manchester United's shoddy start to 2023/24. Fans will hope he can begin to show his true self in the next few weeks and months.