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Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has insisted that Andre Onana’s struggles are a result of him being stressed.
Onana was dropped from the matchday squad that faced Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon following his mistake-strewn performance against Lyon last week.
The Cameroonian was responsible for both goals United conceded, first misjudging Thiago Almada’s free-kick before parrying a shot straight into the path of Rayan Cherki, who was all too happy to fire home and draw his side level at stoppage time.
For the defeat to Newcastle, Ruben Amorim gave the nod to Altay Bayindir to start between the sticks but the Turkey international didn’t fare much better. Bayindir conceded four goals from six shots on target and committed a howler that directly led to the Magpies’ fourth of the game.
After the final whistle, Amorim refused to confirm which goalkeeper would start the return leg vs. Lyon later this week at Old Trafford.
Foster spoke on talkSPORT [as quoted by Football365] and weighed in on Onana’s situation and why the 29-year-old just can’t quite seem to get it right at United.
The former England international said, “You can’t recover that quickly. It’s a horrible place to be, and I’ve been in it so many times throughout my career. You’re struggling mentally, and the only thing you can think of is, ‘Don’t make a mistake.’ And it’s the worst way to go into games.”
“If you can go into games with big confidence, positivity, knowing that you’re going to help your team out, then you’re on a great setting to start the game. But when you’re thinking negatively and pessimistically, it’s a really bad place to be, but I think Onana has been a little bit like that all season, really.”
On what is Onana’s biggest problem, Foster explained, “I see some of the mistakes that he’s made and some of the saves that he makes, he seems to me like he’s a little bit stressed when it comes to the big moments.”
“Whether it’s the big moment of making a save, whether it’s a block or a parry, instead of being really sort of gentle and calm under pressure, he seems to be a little bit too stressed for me.”
The 42-year-old continued, “So he’s getting real blocky surfaces on things and everything seems to be popping out into that six-yard box, where you look at some of the top goalkeepers in the world and straightaway you think of someone like Emi Martinez or Alisson, or Thibaut Courtois.”
“Them goalkeepers, when it comes to the real, big moments, it’s that calmness under pressure, it’s about being focussed but relaxed at the same time, and Onana just doesn’t seem to be able to do that.”
Onana reported to United training on Monday morning accompanied by his agent, amid ongoing speculation that a summer departure is on the cards.
Feature image Richard Pelham via Getty Images
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