Erik ten Hag admits Andre Onana has to ‘step up’ after a difficult start at Manchester United, but backed the Cameroon goalkeeper to overcome his early problems.
Onana has been criticised for a series of shaky performances and hit a low in the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich last month when his costly blunder led to United’s defeat.
Even when Ten Hag’s side snatched a dramatic win over Brentford a fortnight ago, the 27-year-old came under fire again for conceding Mathias Jensen’s opener.
It has fuelled the debate over United ditching long-serving keeper David de Gea in the summer and paying Inter Milan £47.2million for Onana, who played under Ten Hag at Ajax.
The Dutchman knows the 27-year-old can do better, but is confident Onana can follow De Gea and even Peter Schmeichel by overcoming an uncertain start to succeed at Old Trafford.
Andre Onana has endured a challenging start to life at Manchester United after his £47m move
United manager Erik ten Hag backed Onana, saying he’ll need time to settle in at Old Trafford
The United keeper isn’t able to stop Declan Rice scoring in September’s defeat at Arsenal
‘He knows, we know, he will do much better,’ said Ten Hag. ‘Every player who’s coming into the Premier League, you need an integration period, but he has to step up.
‘Big United keepers like Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea started not too good doomed. Andre knows that it is good to know a little bit from history.
‘But we live now, we live in the future and he has to make his future by giving better performances. I’m sure he will do.
‘He showed it at Barcelona, Ajax, Inter Milan, he was in the semi-final and final of the Champions League, I’m sure he will give a great performance.’
The dramatic comeback victory over Brentford gave Onana and United valuable breathing space going into the international break after an awful start that brought six defeats in the opening 10 games.
‘You can’t restart the season but what you see is there is a strong dressing-room,’ added Ten Hag. ‘They are aligned on one page. They are so determined and willing to win games. That is what we have seen in the last couple of minutes (against Brentford).
‘In the end, we beat them and physically we were very strong. Mentally, we kept going and were very strong.’
Onana in the thick of the celebrations after Scott McTominay’s winner against Brentford
Ten Hag refused to be drawn on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment of £1.4billion in United
Inevitably, Ten Hag was asked about the takeover battle at United which is likely to end with Sir Jim Ratcliffe investing £1.4billion for a quarter of the club. However, the manager insisted that he is not part of the process yet.
‘So I’m not involved in this,’ he said.
‘Others in the club are dealing with this. I’m focusing on my team and focusing on the current block (of games).
‘The most important priority is the next game, it’s all about that.’
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