Andre Onana has found some form after a shaky debut season at Manchester United (Picture: Getty)
Peter Schmeichel has applauded an ‘improved’ Andre Onana for cutting big mistakes out of his game this season, insisting the ‘keeper looks far ‘more comfortable’ and ‘at ease’ in the Manchester United goal.
Onana made a number of high-profile blunders across a shaky debut season with United last term as the Red Devils slumped to eighth place under Erik ten Hag, the club’s worst ever finish since the Premier League’s inception.
Despite arriving at Old Trafford for a fee in the region of £44million, there were some calls for United to cut their losses and begin the search for a suitable replacement ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
And while United’s malaise has continued into this season, Onana has arguably been the club’s standout player, with the 28-year-old proving a far more assured presence between the sticks.
Onana was voted United’s Player of the Month for September and the Cameroon international will be looking to pick up where he left off when Ten Hag’s men return to Premier League action at home to Brentford after the international break.
Schmeichel – an integral member of Sir Alex Ferguson’s treble-winning team of 1999 – has been an outspoken critic of Onana in the past but the legendary Dane feels the ex-Inter Milan and Ajax shot-stopper may have turned a corner.
‘I think Onana looks more comfortable in the Manchester United goal now,’ Schmeichel told the Seaman Says podcast.
The Cameroon goalkeeper faced heavy criticism last term (Picture: Getty)
‘One of the things that has happened is they’ve changed the goalkeeping coach so it’s somebody he knows [Jelle ten Rouwelaar] and they’re probably working more on his strengths and his way in the game.
‘The team is still conceding and he is part of the team so it’s not where it should be but from where he started off, he has improved.
‘I don’t think goalkeeping is just about saves. Saves is part of it but it’s not even the biggest part of it.
‘There are so many other things you need to be able to do and also supporting your team in periods when you have the ball and you are up the other end of the pitch.’
Schmeichel has been impressed by Onana’s return to form (Picture: Getty)
Schmeichel believes Onana has earned the trust and ‘confidence’ of his United team-mates in part by removing the errors from his game which attracted such criticism last season.
‘I think he has given his team a little bit more confidence so they can commit more people forward, that he can clean up behind,’ he added.
‘There are so many things that need to be done with that football team in order for them to be so much better.
‘But I would say that Andre definitely looks more at ease with being the Manchester United goalkeeper and he has taken some of the big mistakes out of his game. I think that’s a positive.’
Onana has featured in all but one of United’s matches in all competitions this season, with Altay Bayindir deputising and keeping a clean sheet in the side’s 7-0 win over Barnsley in the Carabao Cup.
The Red Devils find themselves languishing down in 14th place in the Premier League but only four teams – Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle – have a superior defensive record after seven games.
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