Ten Hag ‘open’ to dropping Onana as Man Utd ‘work on’ three ways to improve £47m star

Erik ten Hag is reportedly ‘open’ to dropping Andre Onana from his Manchester United starting XI, but is confident the goalkeeper’s ‘strong character’ will see him come good at Old Trafford.

Onana has replaced David de Gea as the United No.1 this season but has endured a difficult start, with a number of high-profile errors leading fans and pundits to question his place in the team.

An ESPN report has revealed that Ten Hag opted to sign the 27-year-old for £47m from Inter Milan due to a ‘personality’ which set him apart from the other options on thier shortlist, including David Raya and Diogo Costa.

The club is also pleased at Onana remaining ‘a vocal member of the dressing room alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro’ despite his tough start.

But there is an acknoledgement that improvements can and need to be made, with his mistake against Bayern Munich a cause for concern, not because of the error itself, but because of ‘how long it took him to get over it’.

‘Coaches noted that it wasn’t until the start of the second half – more than 30 minutes after the mistake – that he was back clapping and shouting instructions from behind the defence.’

Onana’s ability to recover mentally from mistakes is one aspect of the game United are working with the goalkeeper on, as well as two technical facets.

The report states:

‘United are working with Onana to help him better deal with errors when they come as well as on the technical side of his game, including stabilising his feet more quickly to help with shots aimed low and around his body. It doesn’t help that he has a tendency to get stuck on his goal line when opponents are attacking, and coaches have reminded him to take up more aggressive positions to make the target smaller.’

Despite the desire to improve the Cameroon international and cement his place as the No.1, ESPN claim that ‘Ten Hag is open to making a change in goal if Onana’s form doesn’t improve’, with fellow summer signing Altay Bayindir ‘waiting in the wings’.

READ MORE: How do you solve a problem like Onana? You don’t drop him…