Dimitar Berbatov is confident Andre Onana can succeed at Manchester United (Picture: Getty)
Dimitar Berbatov has urged Andre Onana to tone down his extravagant goalkeeping style following his error-strewn start to his Manchester United career.
Erik ten Hag’s decision to oust David de Gea and replace him with the Cameroon international is looking to be an increasingly risky one.
Onana was at fault again during Tuesday’s catastrophic Champions League defeat against Galatasaray at Old Trafford, with his risky, wayward pass prompting Casemiro into making a foul that saw him collect a second yellow card.
The former Inter and Ajax goalkeeper was bought with a view to accelerating Ten Hag’s plan to build a side capable of playing out from the back, but there is little sign of United having made any progress in that department.
Having also made basic goalkeeping errors against the likes of Bayern Munich, Wolves, where he was fortunate to avoid conceding a late penalty, and Nottingham Forest, Berbatov believes the 27-year-old needs to go back to basics in order to restore confidence.
‘The goalkeeper position is a difficult, strange, and sensitive one,’ Berbatov told Betfair.’Goalkeepers are a different breed in a way. Onana is going to be the no.1, for sure.
‘But his confidence is causing him to make mistakes. You can see that from his body language against Galatasaray.
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‘Sometimes, he forgets that he’s playing smart players. Other players will be studying how Onana plays, and they will bait him into playing certain passes. That’s exactly what happened against Galatasaray.
‘He needs to maintain his confidence but tone it down a bit and think more about who you’re playing and how they’re playing.
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‘I’ve watched Onana play before, and he’s always been the same and I like that. Nowadays, you must play out from the back so it’s good to have Onana because he’s good with the ball at his feet.
‘Having said that, I’ve played football myself and confidence can sometimes play tricks on you and cause you to make mistakes.
‘Man United signed Onana for a reason. He’s a great goalkeeper and he’ll continue to play the way he has been because Erik ten Hag loves that type of football.’
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