Ferdinand: 'Onana will free up the game for Man Utd'
"Onana will free up the game for Man Utd," Ferdinand told TNT Sports on August 8. "His style allows Ten Hag to do what he wants to do with the team. I think Ten Hag is probably a bit limited when using De Gea, because some of his qualities are not as strong as Onana's. ".
Onana used to train at Barca's La Masia furnace, before moving to the Ajax youth team in 2015. In six years playing for the Ajax first team, the 27-year-old Cameroonian goalkeeper won three Dutch championships, two Dutch Cups and a Super Dutch Cup. Onana and coach Erik ten Hag worked together for five years here.
In the summer of 2022, Onana joined Inter on a free transfer, helping the Italian team reach the Champions League final. This summer, he was recruited by Man Utd for a fee of $ 60 million, and with the team spent three friendly matches against Real Madrid, Dortmund and Lens.
According to Ferdinand, Onana excels in the ability to use the foot, confident when controlling and passing the ball. He thinks these advantages are very suitable for modern football, where the goalkeeper is no longer too separate from 10 teammates. "Football today demands more of the goalkeeper," added the former Man Utd captain. "The questions for goalkeepers today are often: can they control the ball with their feet, can they make long passes, can they connect with the team?"
Ferdinand also believes that Man Utd players will not take long to get used to Onana's style. He cited the comfort of Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane and Diogo Dalot when collaborating with Onana in recent friendlies.
Before buying Onana, Man Utd parted ways with the number one goalkeeper last season before De Gea. The 32-year-old Spanish goalkeeper refused to renew, after the "Red Devils" offered a lower salary than the original offer.
De Gea has played for Man Utd since 2011, with the club winning an English Premier League, an FA Cup, two League Cups, three Super Cups and a Europa League. Before that, he won the Europa League and the 2010 European Super Cup with Atletico Madrid. After leaving Man Utd, De Gea has not found a new club.
Man Utd will start the Premier League 2023-2024 with an away game at Wolves, on August 14.
