Ten Hag reveals the THREE reasons why Man United signed Andre Onana

Erik ten Hag reveals the THREE reasons why Man United signed ‘quality goalkeeper’ Andre Onana – as the new £43m man arrives at Old Trafford ahead of USA pre-season tour

• Manchester United announced the signing of goalkeeper Onana this summer
• Red Devils boss Ten Hag coached the Cameroon international at Ajax previously
• He has opened up on the decision to bring the shot-stopper in from Inter Milan

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has revealed why he pushed for the signing of Andre Onana from Inter Milan this summer.

The Cameroon international arrived at Old Trafford in a deal worth £47.1million, signing a five-year contract in Manchester.

United confirmed the deal as the 27-year-old joins his new team-mates for their pre-season tour of America.

Red Devils boss Ten Hag has opened up on the signing, revealing why he decided to pursue the player who he had a strong relationship with at Ajax.

‘I think with his physical presence and also with his personality, he is so keen on winning,’ he said when speaking to Manchester United. ‘He’s so, so eager to win trophies and he will help the team and he will help the squad to get to higher levels.’ 

Manchester United confirmed the signing of Andre Onana this week on a five-year deal

Onana’s enrourage were pictured arriving at Carrington ahead of the move on Wednesday

Erik ten Hag and Onana share a strong relationship dating back to their time together at Ajax

The Dutchman continued to discuss what he expects from a goalkeeper in his system following the departure of David de Gea on the expiry of his contract.

Ten Hag continued to reveal the second reason, which may be the most influencial: ‘Most important, always for a keeper, is clean sheets and he’s not doing that on his own. Therefore, you need a very good defensive organisation, quite clear. 

‘But also the capabilities of a keeper is keeping the goal clean. So this is the first criterion of a good goalkeeper.

‘But, nowadays, football also demands good playing from the back, out-playing qualities, and that is a quality Andre has. You need both and you need to cover both areas. So yeah, we’re happy, of course.’

Onana played alongside United defender Lisandro Martinez during their time at Ajax, as well as featuring in the same team as Antony.

Ten Hag continued to discuss the importance of the relationships that already exist, in particular that with the defender Martinez in front of him. 

‘Did he have a good relationship with Martinez at Ajax? Yeah, of course. With the centre-half, it’s very important, that communication. 

‘That is always very important. It’s about the co-operation, the team. The keeper with his back four, the keeper with his whole team. It has to be connected.

‘So you need the social and communication skills to get that on the highest level, on the level with the demand and the standards are very high in the Premier League and especially with Manchester United.’

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