Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright all felt the same way after Manchester United legend Gary Neville asked who was the most ‘disappointing’ Premier League signing of the season.
United manager Erik ten Hag underwent a summer clearout at the club, with the likes of Dean Henderson, Anthony Elanga, Fred and Alex Telles all moved on.
The Red Devils also splashed out on reinforcements for Ten Hag’s squad, including the hefty £72m transfer fee paid to Serie A side Atalanta for Rasmus Hojlund.
Mason Mount also arrived from Chelsea for an initial fee of £55m, while United also sealed a £47.2m deal to sign Andre Onana from Inter Milan.
Altay Bayindir was brought to Old Trafford for £4.3m from Fenerbahce, with Sergio Reguilon and Sofyan Amrabat both being signed on loan deals for United as well.
Carragher, Keane and Wright on Onana
Onana had big boots to fill after he arrived at United as David de Gea’s successor between the sticks, with the former Ajax star facing mounting criticism this season.
De Gea left United at the end of last season after talks over a new deal broke down and Ten Hag was reunited with Onana, who he worked with during his time at Ajax.
Onana, who played an instrumental role in Inter’s stunning Champions League campaign last season, has often been criticised over his mistakes at United.
The United No 1 has made blunders in the Red Devils’ Champions League campaign so far, despite retaining his place under Ten Hag in the starting XI.
Speaking on The Overlap, Carragher insisted that Onana has been “poor” for United so far and both Wright and Keane agreed with the Sky Sports pundit.
“I’d say, I would probably look at the two goalkeepers, you know, at probably United and Arsenal,” he said.
“They have been poor, haven’t they? They’ve come in as big sort of… they’re gonna move on sort of from Ramsdale and Man United are gonna move on from De Gea and it’s just almost maybe the same or gone backwards, hasn’t it?”
Responding to Carragher, Wright said: “I think that’s a good shout that one.”
Keane added: “United’s been a big problem there. It was the right decision for De Gea to go, definitely — honestly, I’ve obviously been critical of him — but then you’re thinking to bring somebody else in and for him to struggle.”
Reacting to Keane’s assessment, Wright replied: “He starts so badly, unfortunately for him.”
Onana still has time to turn things around at United
Onana isn’t alone in enduring a tough start to life at United, with De Gea struggling early on in his career after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from Atletico Madrid.
Fast-forward from De Gea’s arrival in 2011 to his exit in 2023 and the Spaniard left Old Trafford as a club legend after enjoying an incredibly successful run at United.
Not all hope is lost for Onana, but the former Inter shot-stopper must weather the storm now and fight for his place as De Gea’s rightful successor at United.
The 27-year-old Cameroon international has found his main struggles in the Champions League this season, with his howlers proving very costly for United.
But his league form hasn’t matched his Champions League woes and a consistent run of matches without any major mistakes could turn the tide back in Onana’s favour.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
