Onana 'stuck in his head' as ex-Man Utd star says he is not an upgrade on De Gea

Former Manchester United forward Louis Saha has insisted that Andre Onana has not yet proven he is an upgrade on his predecessor David de Gea.

Onana was signed from Inter Milan this summer as De Gea's replacement but has struggled to convince fans and pundits alike that he is the man that United can rely on between the sticks in the years to come. A number of costly errors within the first two months of his time at the club have sparked discussion over whether he is even an improvement on the shot-stopper who came before him.

De Gea spent 12 years at United and in that time won two Golden Gloves, but the tail-end of his time at the club was littered with a number of high-profile errors. As a result manager Erik ten Hag opted against handing the Spaniard a new contract and secured Onana instead.

Saha has discussed the Cameroon international's first few months at United and insisted that a lot of the issues are mental obstacles that can be overcome. "Onana has had a very bad start and he hasn't had a game where he's been able to save the team," the Frenchman claimed to King Casino Bonus.

"He's very good on the ball and he was signed to give Man United another option in terms of playing style, but his ability hasn't compensated for his performances yet. It's good to have a modern goalkeeper, but his main job is to make saves. It's obvious that Onana is frustrated - you can see it on his face.

"He is costing United games and we're starting to see the consequences of his mistakes. He's still a talented goalkeeper, though, and he'll have to work hard to defy what's currently going on. Onana is clearly stuck in his head and perhaps he has to physically adapt to English football. I'm still confident, though, and I'm backing him to turn his form around despite the debate around his signature."

Saha did claim that while it has not been a dream start for Onana, he does not need to up his level too much to be deemed better than the last knockings of the De Gea-era. “From what we've seen from Onana, I wouldn't say he's an upgrade on David de Gea," he added.

"However, I'd add that Onana only has to upgrade his performances by 20 or 30%. Once he does that, then he'll eliminate his mistakes and start making the saves we all know he can make."

Onana's struggles certainly haven't helped with United's difficult start to the season, but collectively Ten Hag's side have been well below their best. The Red Devils have lost four of their opening eight league games and as a result sit 10th in the Premier League table.

United have hardly fared better in other competitions, with Ten Hag overseeing two defeats from two Champions League group games against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray. In both of those games, Onana was guilty of questionable goalkeeping that directly led to an opposition goal.