Erik ten Hag’s £52m double signing has backfired, Ruben Amorim has to replace them both

Erik ten Hag made a major decision in the summer of 2023 when he decided against extending David de Gea’s contract at Manchester United.

The former Manchester United manager had just completed a successful first season at Old Trafford, winning the Carabao Cup and coming third in the Premier League.

United were looking for ways to improve and one major talking point became the future of David de Gea between the sticks.

After a long saga, Erik ten Hag eventually decided to let the Spanish shot-stopper leave the club on a free transfer in 2023 and he looked to replace him in the transfer market.

André Onana was signed for around £47 million from Inter Milan and then Altay Bayındır also came in for around £5 million as a backup ‘keeper.

It seemed like the position between the sticks would no longer have major question marks surrounding it, but now under new boss Ruben Amorim, things have changed.

Amorim could need to replace United goalkeeping department

Within his first few weeks as United boss, Ruben Amorim saw both Onana and Bayındır concede goals directly from corners. It wasn’t the best first impressions and things haven’t got much better since then.

Onana has been making some amateur mistakes in games, particularly with the way he’s been parrying shots into danger areas. He was saved by VAR last time out against Everton.

The Cameroon goalkeeper has also looked much worse in his distribution. When he joined, Onana was lauded as one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers in world football.

Meanwhile, while Bayındır had an impressive display against Arsenal in the FA Cup, he has since picked up an injury and seems likely to depart the club in the summer.

Bayındır was a first-choice option before he moved to Old Trafford and it seems like he wants to return to Turkey to get consistent minutes once again.

With the backup departing and major question marks over Onana as first-choice, Amorim may end up needing to replace both of them in the summer window.

United need to use Academy to plug holes in squad

It is quite obvious that the summer window will be busy for United, who need to strengthen in so many different positions.

With a limited budget, there also needs to be smart moves made and United should be looking to the youth Academy to fill some of the holes in their squad.

Everybody wants Kobbie Mainoo’s to be coming out of the youth setup, but sometimes it is as equally important to promote players who can be solid squad players.

For example, United will need at least one backup midfielder next year due to the likely departures of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro. Instead of making a signing, United could look to promote someone like Sekou Kone or Tyler Fletcher.

Read More: Sekou Kone sends 10-word message as Manchester United midfielder waits on Ruben Amorim decision

Then, the Reds can focus their budget on some of the more prominent needs in their squad, such as a reliable goalscorer up front.

United can no longer waste money and one of the best ways to combat the amount of issues they have in the squad is to trust in the youth to fill some important gaps.

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