United Review feature about Andre Onana impact at Man Utd

Each player brings something unique, but this is something more.

Yes, the Cameroonian is wildly talented, replete with the kind of huge, confident personality that many deem essential at Old Trafford. But that could be said of many United acquisitions.

The reason Onana will have every Red buzzing is simple: his fluency with the ball could be the key ingredient in the creation of a United team like no other.

That may sound hyperbolic. But anyone who watched Erik ten Hag’s Ajax or the recent Champions League final – where Onana shone despite Internazionale’s 1-0 defeat – will appreciate how a technically gifted goalkeeper can expand a football team’s parameters.

“Most important, always for a keeper, is clean sheets,” explained the manager, when asked about the club’s pursuit of a player he once described as “masterful”.

“The capabilities of a keeper is [about] keeping the goal clean. 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 to cover both areas.”