Van der Sar was convinced £43.8m ace would shine at Man United, now he is set for summer exit

Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar believed it was a “match made in heaven” when Andre Onana moved to Old Trafford.

Van der Sar is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers ever to play for the club.

He won four Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, two League Cups and three Community Shields.

He recently gave an interview to his former colleague Gary Neville on The Overlap.

Van der Sar admitted that Onana was a superb ball distributor but had a tendency to make errors at the back.

He said: “I’ve worked with Andrr for three or four years. He has tremendous qualities. But, he has the odd mistake in him. There are moments where you think, ‘Wow, that’s crazy how can he do that?'”

Neville then asked Van de Sar if he believed Onana would succeed after his move to Old Trafford.

The Dutch shot-stopper said: “Yeah, absolutely. He arrived at Ajax as the third-choice goalkeeper and was very eager to progress, moving up to second and then first choice.

“He then went to Inter Milan and performed really well, including reaching the Champions League final. So I thought the move to Manchester United was like a match made in heaven.”

Andre Onana likely to leave permanently

Onana was signed for an initial fee of £43.8 million in 2023, replacing David de Gea between the sticks.

The Spaniard has been the most crucial player for United in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

After fantastic spells at Ajax and Inter, expectations of Onana were extremely high.

Then-United manager Erik ten Hag was desperate to secure his goalkeeper, emphasising the need to play out from the back.

The Cameroon international made several high-profile blunders during his two-year stay at United.

He played 102 games for the Red Devils but managed to keep only 24 clean sheets. He conceded 150 goals, with 18 errors directly leading to goals.

Patience at United ran thin and Onana was sent on loan to Turkish outfit Trabzonspor for the 2025-26 season.

The Red Devils brought in Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp on the British transfer deadline day last summer.

Lammens has brought calmness to the back. He has a big future and could compete with Radek Vitek for the number one position next term.

Vitek has been enjoying a sensational loan spell at Bristol City and looks ready for a step up.

Onana has no future at United and offloading him permanently will be the club’s major target.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

Article written by Sanidhya Bhardwaj .