Manchester United made a decision in 2023 to change goalkeepers. And this is in sharp focus in two years on.
There is one thing Manchester United fans are in agreement on right now, that goalkeeper Andre Onana is not good enough and needs to be replaced.
After starting his United career with a series of Champions League disasters that led to elimination in the 2023/24 group stages, Onana is now taking his circus act to the Europa League.
Onana made two mistakes to allow Lyon to take a 2-2 draw and set up a winner takes all second leg at Old Trafford.
What David de Gea is up to
The other lens of Manchester United’s goalkeeping situation is a little more divisive, even if Andre Onana’s performances bring an unhappy agreement on his poor displays.
On one hand, are the David de Gea loyalists, who felt the Spanish goalkeeper was wrong by Erik ten Hag and should have keep handed a new deal. It could have enabled United to spend £47 million on different areas of the pitch in 2023.
Many others felt David de Gea had to go, after a poor end to the 2022/23 season that saw him ship seven goals to Liverpool, and make a costly mistake away at West Ham, and crucially in the FA Cup Final against City.
After a year out digesting United’s decision, De Gea returned to action with Fiorentina at the start of the 2024/25 season, and he is competing to win a trophy.
On the same night Andre Onana made two errors in United’s 2-2 draw with Lyon, David de Gea was featuring for Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League, in a 2-1 victory over NK Celje.
Reaction to David de Gea performance
Fiorentina teammate Rolando Mandragora paid tribute to David de Gea’s performance, with the Spanish goalkeeper enjoying a renaissance with the Italian side.
Speaking after his performance, he was quoted via TMW: “We had a bit of difficulty at the end but David gave us a big hand.
“We don’t get used to it, we see monstrous things in training that he replicates in matches, he’s a stratospheric goalkeeper and we’re happy to have him with us.”
Manager Raffaele Palladino also told the outlet of his admiration for De Gea, “A champion, a phenomenon.
“Fundamental for us, he gives us experience and confidence, he’s our great goalkeeper and we’ll hold on to him. He helps our defenders, he gave us a big hand today too.”
Was letting De Gea go for Andre Onana the right move? Probably not.
Should another goalkeeper have been brought in instead of De Gea, probably.
But on April 10, 2025, the case for David de Gea to still be playing at Manchester United looks stronger than it may have done beforehand. Ruben Amorim could do with a ‘stratospheric’, ‘monstrous’ ‘phenomenon’ in goal right now.
Manchester United’s players and coach won’t be lauding the same praise on Onana.
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