No-one is laughing at Andre Onana now! Cameroonian has silenced critics and Man Utd would be in a far worse place without him

It is never easy for any player to adapt to a new league, particularly goalkeepers. David de Gea had a famously rocky first year in England after arriving from Spain and even Peter Schmeichel had some teething problems when he switched from Brondby in Denmark to United in 1991. Yet despite a lot of the negative press Onana has received, he has taken pretty well to the Premier League.

The United keeper has kept eight clean sheets this season and only Arsenal's David Raya (with nine) has kept more. Onana's record looks particularly impressive when you consider that United have faced 467 shots, with only bottom-placed Sheffield United conceding more.

But while the Blades have by far the worst defensive record in the English top flight, United have the joint-third best, letting in 39 goals. Only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City respectively have conceded fewer.

Curiously, Onana was one of the best goalkeepers in last season's Champions League, conceding only 11 times in 13 matches with Inter, who he helped reach the final. His return to Europe's top competition with United, however, was a nightmare from start to finish.

It began with him carelessly letting Leroy Sane's tame shot pass under his body to give Bayern Munich the lead in an eventual 4-3 defeat. His shipped three goals in his next game against Galatasaray and gifted the visitors a penalty and a man advantage by sending the ball straight to an opponent, leading to Casemiro making a last-ditch tackle and getting sent off.

He conceded four more against Copenhagen and three more away to Galatasaray, reacting particularly poorly to two free-kicks from Hakim Ziyech as United twice squandered two-goal leads to draw 3-3. Onana ended the campaign conceding 15 times in six games, with only Royal Antwerp shipping more goals. And United finished bottom of their group, leaving them with no more European football and depriving them of valuable income.

Goalkeepers need a thick skin and Onana normally fronts up after making mistakes, but he was inconsolable after making two howlers against Galatasaray in Istanbul. At full-time he ripped off both his gloves and was seen gesticulating in frustration, waiting alone on the pitch in the driving rain before eventually joining his team-mates back in the dressing room.

It is believed that several players had began to lose faith in him and wished that De Gea, who was mercilessly denied a new contract by the club the previous summer, had stayed on instead. According to The Athletic, one team-mate said to him in training: “Are you going to save one or what?”

Onana also began to doubt himself, reportedly telling a friend: “I don’t know what is happening to me with these mistakes. I always have confidence in myself but now I’m losing it.”

A turning point came when he managed to keep a clean sheet at at Liverpool as United drew 0-0 in a match many people had expected to be a blood bath. The Red Devils did lose two of their next three games at West Ham and Nottingham Forest but Onana was not at fault in either defeat.

And crucially, he got a big vote in confidence from Ten Hag as United negotiated with Cameroon and he was allowed to join up late with his national team for the Africa Cup of Nations so he could play for United against Tottenham and Wigan. It might have seemed like a lack of respect towards back-up keeper Altay Bayindir, but it demonstrated how much United value Onana.

As it turned out, Onana probably wished he had never joined up with Cameroon as he made just one appearance and conceded three goals against Senegal, leaving the tournament with a zero percent save rate.

But his international malaise did not affect his domestic form, far from it. His saves kept United afloat against Tottenham, Aston Villa and Luton Town. And after helping United to a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals, he revealed he had battled demons in his early months since moving from Inter to United, but had come out stronger.

"I had a turning point, but not on the pitch… more mental. It took me six months or seven months not to play good just to feel good. It was a difficult time for me," he revealed. "Now I’m feeling a bit better. Everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home for so many reasons… new country.

"Playing in the final of the Champions League and being knocked out in the first stage after a few months later… it was a big lesson for me. Now I think I have put everything behind me. I learn from it, move on and try to be happy.

"Now I’m feeling good. I don’t want to talk about performance because I know the goalkeeper I am. The most important thing is to be settled, to be happy and I will shine."

Onana has been shining for some time now while facing plenty of obstacles, not least an ever-changing cast of defenders. Ten Hag has had to use 24 different combinations in defence this season due to injuries, including playing without a natural left-back in numerous games due to the absences of Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw.

Lisandro Martinez's extended spells out have also affected the goalkeeper as he is one of the few defenders with the courage and ability to take the ball from the goalkeeper and play out from the back. As they showed against Everton, Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane are excellent defenders with their backs against the wall but struggle to progress the ball forward.

Given Onana was signed mostly due to his play-making abilities, that has been a significant handicap. However, he showed his aptitude for long kicks with his pass towards Bruno Fernandes against Manchester City which led to Marcus Rashford's goal. It was the second goal this season which Onana has contributed to.

Ten Hag will be hoping his goalkeeper can continue to underpin United's transition into a team that is more comfortable on the ball rather than just relying on counterattacks. But the important thing is that Onana is no longer offering United a trade-off for his skills with the ball; he is now excelling in a goalkeeper's primary duty of stopping the ball from going into the net.

And that's just as well, given how many shots United are now conceding. In less than four months he has gone from the cause of the team's woes to the solution. Ten Hag may have 99 more problems, but Onana ain't one.