There have been a lot of questions raised about the goalkeeping department at Old Trafford, and many players have been subject to links with a move to Manchester United given how Ruben Amorim desperately needs to revamp the trio donning the gloves, and this has led the Manchester Reds to be interested in Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahia Fofana. The Premier League heavyweights have been scouting the 24-year-old goalie alongside the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur as United’s scouting network looks to bolster their squad amid concerns regarding the current first-choice keeper, Andre Onana.
Fofana has been putting in some impressive performances in Ligue 1, with the 24-year-old consistently impressing with his remarkable agility, sharp reflexes, and a commanding presence in the box owing to his 6’4″ stature that helps him dominate aerial duels. And then he has shown his ability to make quick decisions. Moreover, his composure and his leadership abilities make him an attractive option for Utd, given how Onana has time and again struggled to command the leaking spaces in the backline.
Onana and Altay, none of them are putting in good enough performances…
When Andre Onana arrived at Old Trafford from Inter, there were high expectations, especially given how his performances inspired the Serie A giants into Champions League giants, but then he has not come even close to those expectations given how his inconsistent performances and consistent mistakes have led United on the backfoot time and again, with the latest of those faltering performances coming in the first leg of Man United’s Europa League tie against Lyon, where a couple of his mistakes led to two goals for the French side. Now, Ruben Amorim also tried to bring in Turkish goalkeeper Altay Bayındır, who moved to Carrington following his impressive performances for Fenerbahce, and he has been warming the bench since joining in 2023. But his performance against Newcastle United at the weekend was equally faltering, with one of the goals coming from a direct error from the 27-year-old as the Toons got the better of the visitors on a 4-1 scoreline.
Speaking in terms of Fofana and the series of performances he has been putting in, he has been consistent and has shown that he is quite capable of putting in high-stakes performances week in, week out. And this is where he could prove to be a massive upgrade on the current options that United have with gloves.
Time to look beyond?
So the question is, is it time for Man United to start looking beyond Onana? The Cameroonian has had a lot of monumental mistakes since he arrived in the English shoes, and most of them have led to United losing points. While he has shown some flashes of brilliance in his distributing the ball abilities, the volume of these costly mistakes has led to much frustration among supporters.
United are playing in a league where anything can happen on a given Sunday, and putting in consistent performances is key for anyone taking up the position in between the sticks. United need someone who can consistently defend, command the area, stop shots and provide confidence to the back line (all the attributes that we see in the teams that are competing at the top of the English top tier), and Onana’s errors have compounded with time.
So is it random for United to go after Fofana? Perhaps the club were being proactive by bringing in a young keeper who could solve their keeping issues and engage the backline, something Onana has struggled with on many occasions.
We will see how the club reacts in the summer window, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Amorim opts for a new keeper.
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