Jonny Evans backs Andre Onana to succeed at Man United after error-strewn start to life at Old Trafford and insists the £47m shot-stopper is following a similar path to David de Gea
- The experienced United defender has rallied around the under-fire goalkeeper
- Jonny Evans believes Andre Onana will be a success at Old Trafford
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Jonny Evans is backing under-pressure Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana after his difficult start as the club’s new number one.
The shot-stopper took the blame for United’s poor 4-3 Champions League group stage defeat to Bayern Munich in midweek after putting in another struggling performance.
The German side opened the scoring after Leroy Sane’s tame effort somehow broke through Onana’s hands and into the back of the net, with the £47m summer signing admitting afterwards that he ‘let the team down had left’.
However, Evans has joined other United teammates in supporting the Cameroonian, with captain Bruno Fernandes similarly declaring ‘he doesn’t have to take any blame’.
Evans returned to United on a one-year deal after an eight-year absence from the club and has backed Onana to follow the same path as former goalkeeper David de Gea, who endured a similarly difficult start for the 13-time Premier League winners.
Anre Onana (yellow top) has had a difficult start to his career at Manchester United
United goalkeeper made a big mistake in Bayern Munich’s opening goal in the midweek Champions League match
“It’s very important for him to do that (take the blame after the game),” Evans told TNT Sports.
‘He didn’t have to do that. But I think for any player who comes to a new club it is very difficult to get a good start and maybe he has been a bit hard on himself.’
‘I’ve seen that very often. And I have experienced that myself. He replaces David de Gea, who had been here for a long time.’
‘Remember again, David may have had a bit of a difficult time settling in at the start of his career at Manchester United and we saw what kind of career he would go on to have for this club.’
Man United defender Jonny Evans (pictured) has backed Onana to recover from past mistakes
Evans compared Onana’s (left) difficult start at United to former goalkeeper David de Gea (right)
United manager Erik ten Hag made the decision to end De Gea’s 12-year tenure at the club and make Onana his new trusted goalkeeper.
The 27-year-old joined Manchester after an impressive season at Inter Milan, which saw the club reach the final of the Champions League, but things did not get off to a smooth start.
De Gea also struggled at the start of his England career, as Sir Alex Ferguson recruited him as a replacement for Edwin van der Sar and eventually battled his way through a tricky start to become a Premier League great.
United have lost three of their first five Premier League matches and are facing a crisis situation that will become much worse if they fail to get three convincing points against Burnley on Saturday evening.
