Former Premier League goalkeeper believes Erik ten Hag is facing his ‘Pep Guardiola moment’

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Former Premier League goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has suggested that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is facing his ‘Pep Guardiola moment’ as Andre Onana struggles to impress.

It’s fair to say that Andre Onana has struggled so far at Manchester United as his mistakes are beginning to pile up since his summer move to the club.

The former Ajax goalkeeper has struggled so far in the Premier League after he decided to leave Inter Milan and reunite with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old made yet another mistake against Brentford as Mathias Jensen’s shot dribbled past his outstretched arm into the back of the net.

Ten Hag’s Guardiola moment

Writing in his weekly column on Optus Sport, the former Chelsea and Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer believes that Ten Hag may well need to axe Onana, similar to how Pep Guardiola axed Claudio Bravo in 2017.

“Bravo was used to playing the way Pep wanted to play, Schwarzer said. “They knew each other very, very well and while he was a decent shot-stopper, he was more known for his ability with his feet and playing out from the back.

“But the difficulty was Manchester City were not Barcelona. And that’s where Bravo became caught out and his biggest strength turning into his biggest weakness, because he couldn’t use it.

“He became exposed for his goalkeeping, which was below the level of his ability with his feet. It’s the same with Onana.”

Schwarzer’s harsh verdict

United are not Ajax, which exposes Onana’s weakness according to Schwarzer. Due to United not having a lot of possession, Onana’s weaknesses are more exposed.

The verdict from the now-retired Premier League goalkeeper is certainly a harsh one.

Onana has had two months to adapt to England, some already seemingly believe he needs to be sold.

It’s harsh to judge Onana on his abilities with his feet when the defence is missing its first-choice back four, so these verdicts on the 27-year-old not being good enough are harsh and certainly jumping the gun.