Gary Pallister believes Alex Ferguson would be no fan of Andre Onana’s style
Ferguson brought David de Gea to Manchester United as a replacement for Edwin van der Sar but Erik ten Hag let the Spaniard leave on a free transfer in the summer.
Replacing him was Onana, signed from Inter Milan.
While he impressed in Serie A and at Ajax, he has also struggled in the early stages at Old Trafford and was again at fault in midweek, in the Champions League tie against Galatasaray.
Pallister played under Ferguson in the 1990s, and questioned whether his old manager would have been able to live with Onana’s eccentric approach, and the decision to play out from the back.
He told Betway: "Whether Onana is an upgrade on David De Gea is the million-dollar question. David was fantastic and his exit was the manager's call. I'm not sure what happened with him behind the scenes and he's still without a club, which is something I find incredible.
“He's still one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Ten Hag is familiar with Onana from Ajax and he'll know what to expect.
“Onana is very confident with the ball at his feet, but he takes risks.That doesn't always come off. Onana has had an uneasy start, but it's early days and he's still settling into life at Manchester United and the pressures the club brings. He's always in the spotlight and he's replaced a fan favourite in De Gea.
“If the pressure was on at Inter Milan, it'll be even more hyped-up at Manchester United. He's had an uncomfortable start, but he's still made some good saves and looks very good on the ball, something that Ten Hag and a lot of managers like. I wouldn't be comfortable playing like that, but maybe that's because I'm an old fashioned centre half. I always felt more comfortable clearing my lines instead of playing the ball out, but that's due to the era I played in. Pitches were also far less reliable than they are now.
“I would have got the hairdryer treatment if I tried to play out from the back. Like I said, you can afford to do that on modern pitches, but the ones I played on were more like cabbage patches. I still think cheap goals can be given away from playing that way as teams can nick the ball off you easily. Sometimes I cover my eyes when teams do it. Sometimes it makes sense to go a little bit longer and get the ball out of the danger area.”