FPL new signings: Is Andre Onana the new go-to goalkeeper?

With David de Gea out of the door, Manchester United have completed the signing of forward-thinking goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan.

Onana, who previously worked with Erik ten Hag at Ajax, has been priced up at £5.0m by Fantasy Premier League (FPL), half a million cheaper than team-mate Luke Shaw (£5.5m), who is currently found in 34.7% of squads.

Let’s assess the shot-stopper’s 2023/24 prospects in this Scout Report.

IN QUOTES

“To join Manchester United is an incredible honour and I have worked hard all my life to get to this moment, overcoming many obstacles along the way. Walking out at Old Trafford to defend our goal and contribute to the team will be another amazing experience. This is the start of a new journey for me, with new teammates, and new ambitions to fight for.

“Manchester United has a long history of incredible goalkeepers, and I will now give everything to create my own legacy in the coming years. I am excited by the opportunity to work again with Erik ten Hag, and I can’t wait to play my part in the success I know he is determined to deliver at this great football club.” – Andre Onana

“Andre was our top choice to become the new goalkeeper for Manchester United, with exactly the right profile of technical attributes and personality. Having achieved success throughout his career, we know that Andre will further add to the winning mentality we are building within our squad. He is already one of the world’s best goalkeepers and at the age of 27 we firmly believe that he can develop even further over the coming years.” – John Murtough, Manchester United’s football director

ANDRE ONANA: PLAYING HISTORY (LEAGUE ONLY)

Onana arrived at Ajax as an 18-year-old, where he started at the academy after joining from Barcelona.

Playing under Erik ten Hag from 2017, he made 214 appearances in all competitions in total, winning three Eredivisie titles, two KNVB cups and one Dutch Super Cup.

However, in February 2021, he was banned by UEFA for 12 months as a result of a doping violation, which Onana said was down to accidentally taking a medicine.

But he returned to action and thrived in 2022/23, playing 41 times for Inter Milan in all competitions and helping them win the Italian Cup. He was also one of the Nerazurri’s key players in their run to the Champions League final, recording the most clean sheets (eight) and saves (47) in the tournament.

On the international stage, Onana made his debut for Cameroon in 2016 and played 34 times before he retired after the World Cup last year.

ANDRE ONANA: PLAYING STYLE

Onana is an excellent ball-playing goalkeeper who frequently completes pinpoint passes into the opponent’s half.

Ten Hag wants his side to play out from the back and it’s a key reason why he was so keen to bring Onana to Old Trafford.

“Most important, always for a keeper, is clean sheets and he’s not doing that on his own. Therefore, you need a very good defensive organisation, [it’s] quite clear. But also the capabilities of a keeper is [about] keeping the goal clean. So this is the first criterion of a good goalkeeper. But, nowadays, football also demands good playing from the back, out-playing qualities, and that is a quality Andre has. You need both and you need to cover both areas.” – Erik ten Hag

Onana’s ability on the ball was also praised by Pep Guardiola when Manchester City met Inter Milan in the Champions League final earlier this year.

“The goalkeeper, Onana, makes it really difficult to deploy a high press against. You cannot press the goalkeeper properly. Inter are masters at keeping the ball.” – Pep Guardiola

Meanwhile, he’s got very good reflexes and his save percentage in 2022/23 (73.5%) was better than de Gea’s and only narrowly behind Liverpool’s Alisson (£5.5m).

So, we have a modern ‘keeper who has the technique of an outfield player, who is able to launch very quick counters.

It’s obviously a riskier style of play than what we have become accustomed to at Old Trafford over the years, which means we might see a few mistakes, but overall, Onana sounds like a huge upgrade.

THE FPL PROSPECTS

Onana offers a cheaper route into the Man Utd defence than Shaw, saving FPL managers £0.5m, which could be important at the start of the season.

And there is real potential for him to rack up the points, given that ten Hag’s side kept a league-high 17 clean sheets in 2022/23 and ranked mid-table for shots conceded from outside the box, with 161.

As discussed in our Team Review, there was an element of defensive overperformance, yet Onana’s arrival and his relationship with the fit-again Lisandro Martinez (£5.0m), who he played with Ajax, immediately improves them.

“Did he have a good relationship with Martinez at Ajax? Yeah, of course. With the centre-half, it’s very important, that communication. That is always very important. It’s about the co-operation, the team. The keeper with his back four, the keeper with his whole team. It has to be connected. So you need the social and communication skills to get that on the highest level, on the level with the demand and the standards are very high in the Premier League and especially with Manchester United.” – Erik ten Hag

Our Season Ticker shows that Man Utd’s opening eight fixtures rank fifth-best in terms of difficulty. It’s a good start, too, with home clashes against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest, the two lowest-scoring away sides in 2022/23.

Admittedly, we don’t know what we’re getting with Onana and it isn’t a given that he will be a success at Man Utd, but he feels like an important signing who can potentially take the club to the next level.

For the FPL community, Onana will probably be the leading set-and-forget option in goal.

He’ll also hopefully aid the clean sheet prospects of Shaw, for those Fantasy managers opting for the chance-creating full-back as their route into United’s backline.

COMMUNITY REACTION