Numerous Manchester United players have been well off the mark this season. (Getty Images)
A former Red has urged Manchester United to cut their losses with one pre-INEOS signing and replace him with a Premier League counterpart.
In true United fashion, the club now find themselves in a position where they’re having to replace signings made by Erik ten Hag, with the likes of Antony, Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana all failing to impress in the seasons they’ve spent at Old Trafford.
Onana, in particular, has come under the microscope this season. When he first made the move from Inter Milan and began accumulating a catalogue of costly errors, fans were lenient enough to put it down to his transition to the Premier League. Now, over a year on, the 28-year-old has essentially no leg to stand on.
Questionable decision-making, such as parrying the ball into dangerous areas rather than catching it, weak attempts to save an effort and out-and-out howlers have all been witnessed on several occasions throughout Onana’s Red Devils tenure, and they’ve proven detrimental to the side’s results at times.
Now, when other positions in the squad are in dire reinforcements, it’s ludicrous to think the board will have to pursue a replacement for their £47.9 million man. Paul Parker, however, believes they have to do so.
Parker: Ditch Onana, go all-out for his relegation-threatened successor
“In an ideal world, Man United should buy a new goalkeeper to replace Onana,” Parker told Danish outlet SpilXperten. “He’s just not good enough, and I don’t think he even looks like a goalkeeper at all.
“Right now, I think [Altay] Bayindir should get a chance, but in the long run, the club should go for Mads Hermansen, who has single-handedly kept Leicester [City] somewhat afloat this season.
“I think he has it all. He’s a fantastic shot-stopper. He’s good with his feet, and he has a strong attitude. As a centre-back, I would be scared to have him behind me, but in a good way because he has such a strong aura.
“The problem is probably that the goalkeeper position won’t be a priority for a new signing, as there are so many other issues in other positions that need strengthening.”
“I can’t help but think about why the club let David de Gea go. It was a really disgraceful way they parted with him after he was named Player of the Year three times in a row, and right now, it looks even more ridiculous because his replacement is so useless,” Parker argued.
“Another thing I really don’t like about Onana is his mentality. It doesn’t seem to bother him when Manchester United concedes a goal.
“You never see him standing there shouting or scolding his defence like De Gea or Peter Schmeichel always did. For them, keeping a clean sheet was a matter of life and death. It meant everything to them.”
