Exclusive Insights: How Andre Onana Emerged as Ajax's Gem and Now Draws Manchester United's Attention

Onana showcased exceptional skills as a defensive midfielder, seamlessly assuming the role throughout the game, which posed significant challenges for us. Pep Guardiola, the manager of Man City, was stunned by the remarkable display exhibited by Inter's Andre Onana in the Champions League final, raising speculation that he might be destined to become Manchester United's future top choice goalkeeper.

Being hailed as a major accolade, the manager who revolutionized the concept of a ball-playing goalkeeper bestowed a significant compliment. Back in 2009, Guardiola's groundbreaking employment of Victor Valdes at Barcelona sparked a paradigm shift, which presently resonates throughout the Premier League.

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Pep Guardiola consoles Onana after Man City's Champions League final win over Inter

David De Gea, who occasionally displayed a lack of proficiency with his footwork last season, has confirmed his departure from Old Trafford after 12 seasons. This departure leaves an opening for Onana, and Manchester United is currently negotiating with the Italian side to secure the services of the Cameroonian goalkeeper. The agreement is nearing completion.

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Once again, Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, seems to have chosen a player from his past collaborations. Andre Onana, who previously played under Ten Hag at Ajax, joins the team. Together, they secured three league titles and made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019. But what makes Ten Hag so eager to bring back his former goalkeeper?

"We News received comments from Dutch football expert Marcel van der Kraan, who believes that he is likely to be the most outstanding goalkeeper that Man Utd will acquire in a considerable amount of time. Van der Kraan highlighted that his ball skills were the very factor that earned him widespread admiration during his stint at Ajax, occasionally displaying amusing and yet remarkable maneuvers."

Onana joined Ajax at the age of 18, having left Barcelona. There were initial concerns about his playing style, but former Manchester United goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, saw potential in the young player. Despite some scouts at Ajax being hesitant due to Onana's flashy tricks and antics, Van der Sar firmly believed in his abilities.

"But Van der Sar said, 'Look we want to get this boy he is going to be brilliant'. Ever since joining Ajax he was a huge success."

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Edwin van der Sar was a mentor to Onana at Ajax

Onana, who served a nine-month ban from football for unintentionally ingesting a prohibited substance, has thrived tremendously after departing the Eredivisie. The Champions League final provided an ideal platform for him to showcase his exceptional skills.

According to Van der Kraan, "He has now developed more composure in his game, which was evident in the Champions League final with his impressive build-up play. While he possesses the versatility to play as a sweeper, full-back, or midfielder, it is crucial to utilize his abilities to the fullest by keeping him in goal where he excels."

Onana is often regarded as crazy by some fans, but there is always an underlying logic to his unique style. It is extremely rare to come across a goalkeeper like him. Onana possesses a level of confidence that is unmatched by anyone else. If United manages to secure his signing, the fans will undoubtedly adore him. Even prior to the Champions League final, Guardiola was cautious of Onana's abilities and how they could potentially pose a threat to City.

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Onana was identified as one of Inter's primary assets ahead of the Champions League final.

"The goalkeeper, Onana, poses a great challenge in executing a high press," Guardiola commented. "Pressuring the goalkeeper effectively becomes nearly impossible. Inter excels at ball retention."

If you witnessed Man Utd's performance last season, you would be aware of De Gea's susceptibility to pressing. His lack of confidence in handling the ball only gave opposition teams more reason to press. Recall the Brentford 4-0 Man Utd match at Gtech in August as an example.

Ten Hag remains determined to initiate plays from the back, and his first season showcased some evident improvements, especially with the inclusion of Lisandro Martinez in the center-back position. However, established tendencies are not easily overcome, and De Gea's inadequacies in ball control undeniably hindered the team's progress.

As demonstrated in the FA Cup final defeat to Man City in June, United have shown a tendency to be predictable when faced with strong pressure. Both De Gea's distribution and shot-stopping were questionable on that occasion, with City's substitute goalkeeper Stefan Ortega highlighting to Ten Hag precisely what he is lacking.

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David De Gea was criticised for his performance in the FA Cup final

Speaking ahead of the Istanbul final, Guardiola compared United's playing style to Inter's and remarked, "United, for example, play with long balls, relying on players like Marcus Rashford to make runs. However, Inter has a different approach. They possess the ball exceptionally well, which is why we must carefully strategize how to counter them. Inter's proficiency with the ball is the reason they have reached the Champions League final."

At the heart of that is a goalkeeper brimming with confidence.

What do the stats say?

Guardiola highlighted that during the Champions League final against City, Onana displayed qualities akin to a holding midfielder, emphasizing his exceptional ball control as an appealing characteristic captivating potential interested parties.

Onana's passing networks depict his usual strategy of playing out from the back by positioning three central defenders ahead of him. In such instances, he frequently opts for longer passes towards the defensive midfielder to bypass the opposing team's pressing tactics. Additionally, he also looks for opportunities to distribute the ball to the full-backs, who are positioned on the flanks.

The illustrations presented below depict the results and distances of each goal-kick executed by De Gea and Onana during the previous season in the Premier League and Champions League. The graphics reveal Onana's notable ability to consistently complete passes into the defensive-midfield area, as well as his significantly higher success rate when delivering long balls to the forwards.

Indeed, the passing sonars below reveal how Onana is more effective at finding team-mates in almost every direction.

Combining all of that information, the table presented illustrates Onana's exceptional passing skills: he outshines the Spaniard in nearly every passing aspect, except for De Gea's tendency to launch goal-kicks significantly further down the field.

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Shot-stopping

Onana emerged as one of the most impressive players in the previous Champions League season, leading his team until their loss to Manchester City in the final. Particularly notable was his remarkable double save in the 1-0 victory against Porto, where their talented goalkeeper Diogo Costa was also in fine form.

Furthermore, Onana played a crucial role in their 2-0 first-leg triumph against rivals AC Milan, resulting in a face-off between the highly sought-after French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

The scatter plot below illustrates Onana's performance in terms of keeping clean sheets during Inter's European campaign. Among all goalkeepers who played for a minimum of 360 minutes, only Ederson surpassed Onana in terms of save percentage and clean-sheet ratio. Additionally, Onana outperformed other goalkeepers in preventing goals, as per xG data.

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Several top clubs have been closely monitoring the 27-year-old for a while, but his remarkable performances on the grand stage of European competitions have significantly raised his value. Now the question arises, how does he compare to De Gea, the esteemed goalkeeper whose shoes he would be expected to step into? Last season, De Gea bid farewell to his remarkable 12-year tenure at Old Trafford by clinching the Golden Glove award, managing to keep 17 clean sheets in the Premier League.

Despite De Gea's impressive performances, Onana conceded fewer goals per 90 minutes and had a higher save percentage in Serie A last season. However, De Gea was a busier goalkeeper, keeping more clean sheets and achieving a better goal-prevention rate, according to xG.

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When visualised against all goalkeepers in Europe's top five leagues, both stoppers rank among the absolute best for preventing shots from close range and keeping clean sheets.

However, in contrast to De Gea, Onana not only belongs to the top five percentile in terms of his successful pass rate and ability to prevent costly errors, but he also demonstrates a higher level of proficiency in saving long-range shots.

The effectiveness of De Gea in the Premier League last season can be seen in the graphic below, which highlights the goalmouth locations for each accurate shot he faced. Interestingly, it is evident that his weakest areas are saving shots aimed low and high in both corners of his goal.

Onana's goalmouth save locations below suggest he is superior at saving attempts low in the corners - but shipped all four shots struck high in the corners.

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