“Serious pressure” – André Onana warned after replacing ‘one of the greatest’ at Manchester United

André Onana has replaced David de Gea as Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper under Erik ten Hag this coming season.

Much has been made of André Onana‘s arrival at Manchester United so far, with the goalkeeper’s unique style set to revolutionise the football Erik ten Hag‘s team will play at Old Trafford.

The new Premier League goalkeeper signed for a fee of £45 million to become the new man in goal, replacing David de Gea, which former United defender Paul Parker feels is a move that will put serious pressure on Onana.

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“Everyone knew what Erik ten Hag wanted to do. He never really fancied David De Gea and the way he plays. But the problem is that De Gea is a club hero. If you were to talk about great goalkeepers at Man United you would think of Edwin van der Sar, Peter Schmeichel, and David De Gea – and I would even put David De Gea down as the best one,” Parker told Bettors.

“David De Gea has never had the best defence in front of him compared to the other two and that’s what makes him special. He has had to earn the right to get respect through his own performances.

“Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar never had to work as hard as David De Gea did. He has had a tough time, to be honest, but he is a Man United great, you can´t take that away from him.

“But goalkeepers have to be as good as the best midfield players on the ball now, which has killed a lot of goalkeepers. It’s just rubbish in my opinion.”

A criticism that De Gea could not escape during his latter years at United was his inefficiency with his feet, with passes often ending wayward of their target.

“David De Gea wasn’t the best with his feet but the defenders kept making it difficult for him with giving him the ball in certain situations where they shouldn’t,” Parker continued. “If your striker isn’t good in the air, would you keep making high crosses to him? Absolutely not.

“I’m sure that David De Gea feels that he has been let down by both his teammates and the fans. At least all the FIFA fans that only look at the kicking stats on their FIFA card. They are not watching the game and they don’t understand the game.

“I was a huge David De Gea fan and I’m still a big fan of him and even more so because of what he had to deal with even though he kept Man United in so many games even though they didn’t deserve it.”

Moving on to the topic of Onana Parker warned that, although people should reserve their judgement, Onana will be under serious pressure to perform well.

“Now, André Onana has arrived and we can’t judge him yet. I never want to judge someone during the pre-season,” he said. “Everyone is talking about that goal he conceded against Lens but he was taking the exact same position as Ederson or Allison usually does when a team is in good possession but outfield players make mistakes, that’s how it is.

“He will be under serious pressure. That’s how it is at Manchester United and everyone will look at him and tell him that it was his fault every time Man United are conceding a goal.

“People will find reasons to question him and they will judge him very harshly. I think he is a good goalkeeper and I’m looking forward to watching him play for Man United but he also has a point to prove after taking over for one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.”