Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has explained why he identified Andre Onana as his top goalkeeper target this transfer window.
Onana completed his initial £44m move to Old Trafford on Thursday, immediately flying out to New York to join up with the Red Devils’ first team squad for their tour of the United States.
United had not initially planned to go all-in on a new goalkeeper this summer, but after contract talks with David de Gea fell through and he left the club on a free transfer at the start of July, they were forced to turn to the market.
Onana emerged as their leading target and will reunite with Ten Hag having previously worked together at Ajax.
Speaking to United’s club channels, Ten Hag discussed Onana‘s qualities and why he wanted to sign him again.
“Most important, always for a keeper, is clean sheets and he’s not doing that on his own,” Ten Hag said. “Therefore, you need a very good defensive organisation, [it’s] quite clear. But also the capabilities of a keeper is [about] keeping the goal clean.
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“So this is the first criterion of a good goalkeeper. But, nowadays, football also demands good playing from the back, out-playing qualities, and that is a quality Andre has. You need both and you need to cover both areas. So yeah, we’re happy, of course.
“I think with his physical presence and also with his personality, he is so keen on winning. He’s so, so eager to win trophies and he will help the team and he will help the squad to get to higher levels.”
Ten Hag is not the only former Ajax colleague that Onana is linking up with again, with Lisandro Martinez an ex-teammate of the Cameroonian.
“Did [Onana] have a good relationship with Martinez at Ajax? Yeah, of course,” Ten Hag confirmed. “With the centre-half, it’s very important, that communication. That is always very important. It’s about the co-operation, the team.
“The keeper with his back four, the keeper with his whole team. It has to be connected. So you need the social and communication skills to get that on the highest level, on the level with the demand and the standards are very high in the Premier League and especially with Manchester United.”
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