Michael Owen backs Onana despite his two mistakes in the United shock cup exit

Former Manchester United striker Michael Owen has insisted that the Red Devils do not need a new goalkeeper, despite Andre Onana's mistake-riddled performance in their embarrassing Carabao Cup second-round defeat to Grimsby Town.

The League Two club pulled off one of the shocks of this century by sensationally knocking out Ruben Amorim's side on penalties after United had fought their way back from two goals down to force the shootout.

It was the first time that United had ever been eliminated from a domestic cup tie by a fourth-tier side. The optimism that filled the air at Old Trafford after a promising summer transfer window has quickly diminished.

Amorim made multiple changes to his starting line-up at Blundell Park on Wednesday night, but he still started a team that cost a mammoth £400million to build. Error-prone Onana, who signed for the club for £43m from Inter Milan in 2023, was one of the many big names to start in Lincolnshire.

After losing his No.1 shirt to Altay Bayindir in the Premier League, the Cameroonian started a match for the first time this season. However, he had a night to forget.

Onana was beaten comfortably at his near post for Grimsby's opener before flapping at a cross in the build-up to the second. He has since been subject to criticism from both fans and the media, but Owen still believes there is a place for him at the club.

'There have been a lot of reports linking them to one or two goalkeepers,' Owen said to AskGamblers. 'So, who knows whether that's still a position that they're looking at? Lots of people are against Onana.

'I know he makes mistakes, but I'm not as against him as a lot of people. Don't get me wrong, he's no Peter Schmeichel, but it wouldn't be the position that I'd be most looking to strengthen.'

After what was a disastrous 2024-25 Premier League campaign - the worst in the club's history - Ineos have backed Amorim in the transfer market as he looks to build a side that suits his system.

More than £200m has been spent on new attackers with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who both missed spot-kicks in the shootout defeat, making the move to Old Trafford. Striker Benjamin Sesko has also come in for a big transfer fee.

However, the same old issues seem to have arisen in the early parts of the new campaign, and many believe that Ineos needs to dig deeper into their pockets to sign a new goalkeeper and a midfielder.

Not Owen, though. The retired forward, who spent three years at Old Trafford, believes United have made the correct moves in the market.

He continued: 'I think they've done the right thing in prioritising getting some attacking players. They struggled to score goals and were useless going forward, so they got some attacking players.

'That would have been the priority for me too, and so I'm pleased to see that they've done that.

'Now, if they want to win the league, then maybe you could say, do they need a goalkeeper? Do they need other positions? And yeah, you might say, yes, but I don't look at it and think "Oh wow. That needs to change that position straight away".

'It could change, and maybe it should change at some point, but priority-wise, I think they've done the right thing, put it that way.'