Yann Sommer made a colossal error in an Inter Milan defeat this week with the Serie A challengers missing Andre Onana since his £47 million move to Premier League giants Manchester United.
What Inter’s new number one lacks in technical ability or presence, he usually makes up for in pure shot-stopping. Sommer, linked with Manchester United himself earlier in the summer, had been in outstanding form after swapping Bayern Munich for the San Siro.
Well, until he allowed a Nedim Bajrami shot to squirm through his grasp at the near post in midweek, Inter losing 2-1 at home to a Sassuolo side who hammered Juventus only a few days previously.
Pure ‘shot-stopping’ is perhaps the only attribute Sommer has over Manchester United’s £47 million glovesman and, if blunders such as this become a regular occurrence, it won’t be long before some serious questions are starting to be asked about his position between the sticks.
Yann Sommer makes big Inter Milan mistake
“After the sale of Andre Onana, Inter had the problem of signing a good goalkeeper. The first idea was (Tottenham’s Guglielmo) Vicario, an excellent goalkeeper. Having failed, the solution that gave the most certainty was Sommer,” Inter legend Ivano Bordon tells Tuttomercatoweb.
“He’s a goalkeeper who has experience. A good goalkeeper. He doesn’t have the quality with his feet or the personality of Onana, but he is a good goalkeeper.
“(Sommer) will have to react morally and psychologically (to that Sassuolo error). In a context where everyone was talking about replacing Onana, we knew it would be complicated.”
Andre Onana bounces back after Bayern
Onana has not exactly enjoyed an error-free start to life in his new home either, though the one-time Barcelona prospect has bounced back impressively following that Bayern howler with two straight clean sheets and a couple of stand-out saves against Burnley and Crystal Palace.
The test facing Sommer, now, is to prove he can do the same.
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