Wes Brown has completely supported Ruben Amorim’s decision to start André Onana in the second-leg Europa League quarter-final clash between Manchester United and Lyon.
Manchester United are currently preparing to face Lyon at Old Trafford in a winner takes all game for Europa League semi final qualification.
However, recent form has given Ruben Amorim a number of difficult decisions to be made in terms of his starting team. United’s last two games have seen two different goalkeepers play between the sticks but both players have failed to impress.
Andre Onana was chosen to face Lyon in the first leg and United could have come away with a victory if it was not for Onana’s performance. United first conceded in the 24th minute when a Thiago Almada free kick was misjudged by Onana and made its way into the bottom corner.
After goals from Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee put United in front, another error from Onana led to Rayan Cherki scoring a 95th minute equaliser after the ‘keeper spilled the ball into the Frenchman’s path.
Onana was rotated out for the following game against Newcastle United with conflicting reports as to wether it was form, rest or personal issues.
Altay Bayındır replaced him to make his first Premier League appearance. Despite being level at half-time a dismal second half performance led to a 4-1 win for Newcastle. While Bayındır was not responsible for the first three goals United conceded he was undoubtedly at fault for the fourth after his pass under little pressure hit Joelinton who then assisted Bruno Guimarães.
Amorim ultimately ended all uncertainty about the situation ahead of Thursday’s clash when he confirmed that Onana would be starting the game in his pre-match press conference, which will be controversial in the eyes of some fans.
Brown agrees with decision to start Onana vs Lyon
Former United defender Wes Brown has spoken to AOS about the current Onana situation at the club.
“The pressure is on him from both fans and his teammates. He’s had a little bit of time to prove himself now and it’s about time he begins to step up in big games,” he said.
Speaking before Amorim’s confirmation, Brown stated that the manager should stick by the Cameroon international and start him in the game against Lyon.
“I think Ruben Amorim has to play Onana on Thursday against Lyon instead of Altay Bayındır after what happened against Newcastle,” added Brown. “He has to hope Onana has one of his better games, it’s as simple as that.”
Onana will definitely feel he has something to prove after being dropped against Newcastle and following Nemanja Matić’s comments prior to the first leg.
Brown’s stance on United selling Onana in summer window
With Amorim likely to bring in a plethora of players in the summer their is speculation that the United manager may want to bring in a new keeper. Onana was a signed by Erik ten Hag from Inter Milan for £43.8 million in 2023 after the pair shared four years together at Ajax where they won three league titles.
Brown, however, is doubtful that United will make a change in the summer. “I don’t think the club will sell Andre Onana this summer,” he continued.
“It just isn’t a priority for the club at the moment, there are other areas of the pitch that really need to be strengthened first. Onana cost a lot of money and if the club want to buy another goalkeeper, then it’ll cost them a lot again, so I just can’t see it happening”.
Recent weeks have seen United linked with Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki as speculation about who will feature in goal next season grows.
The 22 year old Parma goalkeeper could be brought into the club even if Onana does stay as Bayındır has been inconsistent and number three goalkeeper Tom Heaton has been confirmed to be leaving at the end of the season.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.