Edwin van der Sar explains why 'tremendous' Andre Onana failed at Man Utd & gives verdict on new No.1 Senne Lammens

Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case. Onana signed from Inter for £47m ($63m) in 2023 to replace David de Gea, but things got off to a worrying start when he was lobbed from the halfway line in his first game at Old Trafford against Lens. 

It was the first of many high-profile errors, which proved detrimental to United's Champions League campaign and continued to haunt him to the point that former United midfielder Nemanja Matic brutally called Onana "the worst goalkeeper in Man United's history" before last season's Europa League quarter-final tie with Lyon. 

As if to underline the point, Onana made two blunders in the 2-2 draw in the first leg. His last game for United was another night to forget as he made two mistakes leading to goals in the humiliating Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby Town. Days later, he went out on loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor. His downfall reached a new low when he was dropped from the Cameroon squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Van der Sar told The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet: "I worked with Andre Onana for three or four years at Ajax. He came in as a third-choice goalkeeper and was very eager to step up and become the first choice. I thought, and I still think, that he has tremendous qualities – reflections and his feet – but somehow, he has the odd mistake in him that makes you think 'That’s crazy, how can he do that'.

"A team wants stability, to know what your goalkeeper is doing so the back four can relate and I think that’s what happened [the issue] with André. Manchester United haven’t had stability for the last six or seven years – the back four changing, the centre-halves and midfielders changing, coaches changing – so, it’s difficult for new players to come into an environment where the expectations are high, not only for goalkeepers but also for a winger or midfielder. A lot of players who have come here in the last eight or nine years have not reached the level that people expected them to reach.  

"I absolutely thought that he [André] would succeed when he first came here. As I said, I worked with him and saw him at Ajax, he did well in Italy and played in a Champions League final, so I thought it was a match made in heaven."

United signed young prospect Senne Lammens to take over from Onana after turning down the chance to sign World Cup-winning Emi Martinez. The Belgian has been a huge success so far at United, making none of the high-profile gaffes Onana was renowned for and bringing extra security to a Red Devils team that are pushing to finish in the top four.

Van der Sar has been impressed with the 23-year-old. He said: "He’s doing well. Of course, it’s only been seven or eight months, but it certainly looks like he knows the physicality of the Premier League – I see him coming for balls in the penalty spot and he claims them with confidence, makes saves when needed, not looking to make saves when not necessary. I’m not here day-to-day and I don’t see all of the games, but he looks like he has a good package with him to be here [at Manchester United] for a long time."

Van der Sar played alongside Michael Carrick for five seasons at United and he believes the Red Devils are looking like their old selves under the stewardship of the former midfielder. He explained: "Manchester United has a culture. Manchester City has a culture; they have changed to a completely different culture. Sometimes people live a lot in history and what a club has achieved in the past and the way teams use to play football. 

"The last three games Manchester United have played it looks a little bit like a United team from the past and that is nice to see for the fans, the belief that they get, the support the team gets – scoring a last-minute goal! As long as we do that in the game and we get the ball towards the goal and we score, that is something we need to believe in and if you can believe in a team – and they’re good players – but they need a certain kind of structure to get the best quality out of them."