8 months ago
47 ARTICLE AD
Louis SealeyPublished Mar 19, 2024, 2:06pm|Updated Mar 19, 2024, 2:07pm
Graeme Souness has questioned why Manchester United signed Andre Onana and claims Erik ten Hag should have kept David de Gea at Old Trafford instead.
United spent almost £50m to sign Cameroon goalkeeper Onana from Inter Milan last summer after De Gea’s departure from the club was confirmed.
De Gea had spent over a decade at Old Trafford, making 545 appearances and amassing 190 clean sheets – both club records for a keeper.
The Spaniard left Manchester United after lengthy and unedifying contract negotiations but his replacement has flattered to deceive this season in a team struggling to regain their place in the Champions League.
Souness has questioned how much Onana has brought to United and says his transfer fee could have been used on more pressing parts of the pitch.
‘You don’t have an infinite amount of money to spend,’ the Liverpool legend told talkSPORT.
‘You have a budget to work with. But you go and spend £70m [£47.2m] on a goalkeeper because you want to play from the back.
‘You need to prioritise. You have to try and strengthen where you really need players.
‘Did they really, really need to spend that money on a goalkeeper when they had De Gea who was still a very good goalkeeper for Man United?
‘De Gea was still a top goalkeeper. Every goalkeeper will make a mistake. They’ve spent £70m [£47.2m] on a new goalkeeper but are they really playing any differently now, just because Onana is better on the ball?
‘That money should have been spent elsewhere and been more productive. The recruitment has been pretty average.’
While Manchester United have generally underperformed this season and suffered an early exit from the Champions League, they produced an impressive fightback to beat Liverpool in an epic FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday.
The Red Devils – currently sixth in the Premier League, nine points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa – face Championship side Coventry City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Sir Alex Ferguson names team he doesn’t want to see win the league
MORE : Marcus Rashford’s mum reveals Man Utd forward has suffered two ‘setbacks’
MORE : Sir Jim Ratcliffe reveals who he wants to win Premier League title despite ‘hating them all’
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
