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Ruben Amorim says Andre Onana will be the starting goalkeeper against Olympique Lyonnais in the Europa League quarter final second leg tomorrow.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the game, the boss also confirmed that Joshua Zirkzee is out for the season but Jonny Evans, Ayden Heaven and Matthijs de Ligt will return soon.
“Onana will play tomorrow,” he said.
“No I think as a former coach and a former player, I try to do things that can help a player in this situation. So sometimes we talk about managing players physically, but we also have to manage them mentally. But then, they have to return to competition. And Onana is ready. He had one weekend I thought it was better he didn’t play and it was good for Altay to play. This week, my thinking was to put Onana to play.
“Matthijs will return [before the end of the season].
“Ayden has a small setback. Jonny Evans is back in training but he is not back for this game. Amad, he is not ready for this month. But I hope to have him for this season.”
On the importance of winning the competition for the club in terms of planning, Amorim replied:
“I think it is about the budget when planning for next season. The Champions League can change everything. But you can see it in both ways. If you are in the Champions League, you have to play top teams on a Wednesday and then top teams in the Premier League at the weekend. We are at a moment when the team needs a lot of work, and a lot of work means you need a lot of time to train. So you can see it both ways.
“We want Champions League, this is the best thing. But if we don’t we’ll have full weeks to train and build the best team.”
The subject returned to Onana, and whether he consulted his coaches on picking the keeper.
“Of course, the staff is there not just to be there. I make the evaluation the same way I do with other players, but Vital has a huge impact on my decision.
He was then asked whether dropping the keeper against Newcastle might have undermined his confidence. He said:
“That is the big factor on being a coach. Everything you do has two ways and he’s going to be good tomorrow, I’m sure of that, but if he’s not, people will say it was a bad decision. So you never know.
“I am trying to be clear on things and try to make the valuation, be really simple, not overthink, and when I see the game, I think Andre is ready to return and to start this game.”
He was then asked if he will be looking to upgrade the goalkeeping position in the summer, he replied:
“We need to improve. We cannot look to the team of Manchester United and say ‘we are in this position in the league’. We have been really underperforming this season, and you cannot change all the players. What we should do is to improve any position on the team with the players that we have and try to bring different characteristics for next season.
Asked if “you need a new goalkeeper”, he responded:
“We need to every position on the field; goalkeeper is the same. We can work with Andre. If the team scores more goals and is more danger on the forwards and our striker, we will defend better and Onana will defend better.
“Onana already proved he’s a top player, top player in Inter. So he has a pass. Altay the same at Fenerbahce. Sometimes you have a season where you are underperforming. If we are going like any player is underperforming, we have to change everything, that’s not the process we need now.”
Pressed for a yes or no on whether he would be looking to sign a new keeper, Amorim replied:
“What I’m saying is we are going to make that evaluation for any position in the squad. If we are talking about mistakes, you can see my record. My record is the worst one in the team. So I’m also underperforming and I think I’m the right guy to coach the team, so I think the same for Andre.”
Asked on De Ligt’s injury situation, Amorim said:
“He is going to return before the end of the season. He has some pain. He finished the game against Nottingham Forest, so sometimes it’s something that he needs to be in the right moment to return to competition. He is really working hard, he is a tough guy. We expect to have Matthijs in the next weeks.”
More to follow …Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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