According to former Man Utd defender Paul Parker, Andre Onana’s weaknesses are his ability to save and only handle his feet at an above-average level.

“Onana’s weakness is the goalkeeper’s skills, especially the ability to save the ball, the ability to block and handle the ball with his hands. Onana is erratic and can never control his saves, often letting the ball go. came up,” Parker – a former defender who played for Man Utd from 1991 to 1996 – told SpilXperten on November 17.

In the summer of 2023, Man Utd said goodbye to David de Gea – the team’s most senior player, to recruit Onana for 62 million USD. Onana is a modern goalkeeper, outstanding in his ability to pass the ball with his feet, and is expected to help Man Utd improve its ability to deploy the ball from home.

The Cameroon goalkeeper demonstrated this strength by helping Man Utd control the ball better, but received a lot of criticism for his ability to block with his hands. The “Red Devils” have conceded 16 goals through 12 matches in the Premier League, only behind Aston Villa with 17 goals conceded in the Top 7. In the Champions League, Man Utd ranked bottom of the table with three points, scoring nine goals but conceding 11. times and the risk of early elimination.

According to Parker, Onana is highly appreciated for his ability to play with his feet, but is far behind Man City’s Ederson or Liverpool’s Alisson Becker – the two most highly rated goalkeepers in the Premier League in this skill. The former English midfielder does not know what Onana’s strengths are, and believes that the Man Utd goalkeeper is having difficulty both mentally and physically, more so than when he was playing for Inter Milan.

“De Gea is a goalkeeper you can trust, and Onana is not,” Parker added. “I hope he can do like De Gea, when he gets used to English football. Everyone keeps telling me how great Onana is at Inter but I don’t see it. Italian football is not cruel. is as fierce as English football and Onana faces more challenges than when it was in Italy.”

Parker was born in 1964, played fullback for Man Utd in the period 1991-1996, winning five titles with the club, including two Premier League championships in 1993 and 1994.

Parker continued to defend De Gea, saying that the Spanish goalkeeper was doubted and disrespected because he was better at saving than handling with his feet. He also believes that Onana’s foot play is just above average with what he showed at Old Trafford. “Many people may say that Onana has a poor back four in front of him, but so does De Gea. De Gea did what he did, and Onana has never come close to doing that,” Parker added. .

Since leaving Man Utd, De Gea has yet to find a new home. He is said to be able to return to Old Trafford in January 2024 on a short-term contract, when Onana will join the Cameroon team for the 2024 Africa Cup (AFCON). If he does not recruit De Gea, coach Erik ten Hag has two options. selected were Tom Heaton and Altay Bayindir.