Brutal verdict as Van der Sar admits André Onana “is making mistakes” at Manchester United

Edwin van der Sar has acknowledged that André Onana “sometimes makes mistakes”, admitting he expected the Cameroon goalkeeper to thrive at Manchester United.

The former United goalkeeper, who enjoyed a successful spell at Old Trafford, reflected on Onana’s situation during an appearance on “The Overlap” alongside his former team-mate Gary Neville.

Onana, currently on loan at Trabzonspor, has struggled to cement his place in United’s first team.

Van der Sar, who worked with Onana at AFC Ajax, spoke highly of the goalkeeper’s ability but conceded that inconsistency has proved costly. “I had the pleasure of working with André at Ajax for a few years,” he said.

“He arrived as third-choice goalkeeper and was very determined to become the starter. I think he possesses exceptional qualities: his reflexes, his game intelligence, everything.”

“But despite everything, he sometimes makes mistakes. From time to time, he does something silly, something unexpected.

We need stability, a goalkeeper who inspires calm in his defense. But – and this applies not only to goalkeepers, but to the whole club – stability has been lacking at Manchester United for years.”

Van der Sar suggested that frequent managerial and defensive changes have created a challenging environment. “Then the coach changes, then the defense changes.

There is never any stability, which makes it much harder for the new players, who find themselves under pressure,” he explained.

“The pressure to win trophies, to shine in the Champions League. In recent years, many players who have arrived at United have not lived up to expectations.”

Despite his concerns, Van der Sar admitted he believed Onana would succeed at Manchester United. “Absolutely. I saw him at Ajax, but also in Italy (at Inter).

He played very well there, he played in the Champions League final. And Ten Hag was there, he already knew him. With Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez ahead of him. It worked well at Ajax, so why not here?”