Andre Onana won’t change! Man Utd goalkeeper delivers defiant ‘mistakes’ message amid David de Gea return talk

The 27-year-old shot-stopper has endured a tough start to life in English football following his £48 million ($59m) transfer from Inter over the summer. A number of costly errors have crept into his game, leading to suggestions that United may be tempted to bring David de Gea back to Old Trafford a matter of months after releasing him as a free agent.

Onana has sent a defiant message to his doubters, though, with the African ace eager to point out that he is “not afraid to make mistakes” as he seeks to become the modern day No.1 that United placed so much trust in. Onana has told the TeamViewer Diaries series on MUTV: “Now the goalkeeper is like [having] another player more, you know? And when you look at the way most of the teams want to play, now they use the goalkeeper as a plus one. I consider myself as a modern goalkeeper, so I'm not afraid to make mistakes. I'm not afraid to take risks and I would take risks because the way I play is what brought me to Manchester United, one of the best clubs in the world, and I will not drop. I will never drop. I will only go forward. I can make mistakes and mistakes are a part of life.”

Onana has big boots to fill as the man chosen to succeed De Gea between the sticks in Manchester. He is also following in the footsteps of illustrious figures such as Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar – with the latter having helped to mould his game while working as chief executive at Ajax. Onana added on learning from all-time great Van der Sar: “He advised me a lot during the game, after the game, especially if I was making mistakes! He was coming through all the way to the dressing room or to the training session to speak with me and he helped me to build that personality, you know? I will always be thankful to him.”

Onana helped United to a clean sheet in his latest Premier League outing – a 1-0 win over Fulham – and will be hoping to figure again on Wednesday when the Red Devils take in a Champions League clash with FC Copenhagen that they desperately need to take maximum points from.