Joe Hart tells Ruben Amorim he has 'failed' £43m Man Utd star following Southampton win
Today at 05:49 AM
Andre Onana has been ‘failed’ by his Manchester United teammates and Ruben Amorim, and signing a new goalkeeper won’t improve the team.
That is the opinion of former Manchester City and England keeper Joe Hart, who admits he feels sympathy for the United No.1.
Onana has been under huge pressure since Erik ten Hag signed him to replace legendary shot-stopper and fan-favourite David de Gea in a deal worth upwards of £43.8million.
After a rocky first season where he made numerous mistakes, Onana’s form has improved this campaign, often making big saves to keep the Red Devils in games.
He did so again on Thursday night when United came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1, but there has been speculation over how long the Cameroonian will last under new head coach Amorim.
Moreover, Onana was mainly brought in due to his ability on the ball and passing skills, and critics have noted that he is yet to properly demonstrate this at Old Trafford.
‘I feel for Andre Onana. He will be questioned, and they will be thinking about what’s best for the team moving forward,’ Hart told Stadium Astro.
‘But they did bring a goalkeeper in who’s very comfortable in playing out in the Ajax system. Under Erik ten Hag he was excellent. Inter Milan, a league winner, a Champions League finalist.
‘But he’s a system goalkeeper and he would have been assured by Ten Hag when he signed that when you play with me, you’re going to have at least three options and then the worst/best case will be that everyone will have a huge press and you’ll be able to drop it into the front man.
‘I’m not seeing a team in front of him who are making all the effort to play and to show for him. I’m seeing people’s backs. I’m not seeing the energy to get next to him to create the press.
‘The atmosphere in the stadium when he gets the ball at his feet is not confident and that’s not necessarily down to him, that’s down to the players around him. He’s not been covering himself in glory, but I can see why he looks hesitant on the ball.’
When asked if the other United players had 'failed' Onana, Hart replied: ‘I think the whole team, the manager, everyone’s failing him. If you want to be a team that plays out it needs to be 11 men, 12 including the coach, that want to play that way.
‘At the moment, I see a guy who wants to play football, puts his foot on the ball and when he did that at the other teams where he’s been successful, he’s had endless options.
‘At Manchester United, he’s just seen blind alleyways and ultimately having to lump it long. That's not Manchester United, that’s not what they’re set up to do and that’s why the possession constantly gets turned over.
‘You could bring someone in but being a good goalkeeper who plays out from the back is not someone whose got all the passes. It's being able to be part of a system. It's more pressure on Amorim.’
Onana will be hoping to be more in sync with his teammates in their next game, with United set to host Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday.
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