Chris Sutton tears into Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana

Speaking in an interview with Daily Mail as quoted by Manchester Evening News, Chris Sutton, the BBC Sport pundit has torn into Manchester United shot-stopper Andre Onana claiming that he is a downgrade on legend David de Gea.

When the 27-year-old left Inter Milan to come to Old Trafford this summer for £38.3 million, it was widely regarded as a major coup. After David de Gea left, Erik ten Hag, who had previously worked with the custodian at Ajax, actively pursued his signature.

Against Galatasaray, when Onana misplaced a pass, Casemiro was forced to tackle Dries Mertens in the penalty area and was thus dismissed. This is the latest in a list of high profile errors that the shot-stopper has made till now.

After being sent home from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar due to an altercation with manager Rigobert Song, Onana initially retired from service for his national team.

The 3-0 victory over Burundi on September 12 clinched Cameroon’s spot at the Nations Cup in the Ivory Coast in January and Onana made a spectacular comeback to play in the match.

Chris Sutton told the Daily Mail (h/t Manchester Evening News):

“I think he’s a downgrade on De Gea. I really do. I’ve seen enough of him.”

“Is he better than De Gea with his feet? Probably, only just. But I’m more interested in him keeping the ball out the back of the net and I think he’s made a lot of blunders this season. A lot of goalkeeping errors.

“You go to the game against Bayern Munich, a couple of errors, and even the game this week (against Galatasaray) where I thought the third goal, he went down so early. I’m not so sure about him. I think Manchester United will make a change. I’m not saying this season but I think at the end of the season they need to get an upgrade on Onana.”

Sutton has taken a risk by saying that the Onana won’t be able to get through his growing pains while wearing a United jersey.

Onana still has a great deal of room for development. The fact that Ten Hag continues to support him in spite of his errors will provide him a significant advantage in keeping his job.

More Manchester United News-

• Manchester United legend Gary Neville calls the club a “graveyard” for the managers and the players.
• Manchester United plans in jeopardy as release clause hinders Lois Openda’s pursuit.
• Manchester United considered signing Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2022 but did not return this summer

A player cannot forget to play football overnight and we all know how good Onana can be. It’s still early days. Let’s hope we can keep supporting him and expect him to come good very soon.