Dwight Yorke believes that Erik ten Hag is taking a gamble by continuing to support summer signing Andre Onana, and this could potentially make him appear foolish.
The Manchester United manager took a significant risk during the summer by replacing the long-serving David de Gea with the Cameroon international. Onana’s performance has been marked by a series of mistake-ridden displays, leading to doubts about Ten Hag’s decision-making. Even United’s coaches have been worried about how Onana has responded to his errors.
Although Onana’s start at Manchester United hasn’t been very convincing, there is no sign that Erik Ten Hag has lost faith in him, despite having previously coached him at Ajax. According to former United striker Yorke, this could potentially turn out to be a significant mistake.
‘They always say the grass is never greener on the other side,’ Yorke told investment data analysis platform Stocklytics, ‘I told everybody that they should be careful what they wish for!
‘Managers are there to make tough decisions and they have their own ideas on who they select in their team. Ten Hag made the decision to get rid of De Gea and bring in Onana.
‘If you study Onana, and I’m sure Ten Hag did, you’ll see there’s a massive risk with the way he plays – especially in the English game.
‘It’s totally different, and you thought Onana would have known that by now. There are a lot of crosses and a lot of passes in and around the box and you need a goalkeeper who can handle those situations.
‘Yes, you need a ‘keeper who wants to play out from the back, and that’s Onana’s philosophy. It’s high-risk, high reward. It’s brilliant when it works, but when it doesn’t, it looks like the manager has got his selection totally wrong. It’s clear to see that the goalkeeping department has been a massive struggle for United.
‘Managers can look like the fool sometimes by bringing someone in who doesn’t work. I was at the club when Sir Alex brought Massimo Taibi into the side, and he didn’t quite work out.
‘The manager did, however, realise that very quickly. I’m not sure if Ten Hag will do that, or if he’s stubborn enough to back Onana. We don’t know.’