Man Utd should have kept David de Gea instead of signing Andre Onana for £47m, says Ben Foster

Manchester United should have stuck with David de Gea for another season, according to Ben Foster, who has raised doubts over their decision to sign Andre Onana.

Erik ten Hag moved quickly to replace De Gea after the Spaniard failed to agree terms on a new contract.

The 32-year-old goalkeeper, who recorded a record-breaking 190 clean sheets in 545 appearances during a 12-year spell at Old Trafford, said it was the "right time to undertake a new challenge" following his exit.

But many were still unhappy with the way his departure was handled, including Wrexham goalkeeper Foster.

“I didn’t like the manner in which David de Gea left, I really didn’t,” he said earlier this month. "Considering what David has done for Manchester United over the years he deserved more respect.

"Football is cut-throat. Sometimes you get players who will angle for more money or a bigger contract. And then the fans pile in and give them dog’s abuse. But with De Gea he’s given Manchester United over ten years of service and has won the Player of the Year multiple times.

"He’s been incredible and the way they dealt with his exit was disappointing.”

Nine days after De Gea's exit and his ready-made replacement, Andre Onana, would pen a five-year deal at Old Trafford following weeks of speculation.

The former Inter Milan number one made a good impression on his debut against Real Madrid, although Foster remains adamant that United should have kept De Gea ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Speaking to The United Stand, he said: “Personally, I would have stuck with David for another season. He had that year extension so he could have stayed. £47m could have been better spent elsewhere. But it is what it is, we have to move forward and it is probably a good signing.

"David has done such a good job because there is so much pressure and expectation when you play in goal for United. It's a really hard job. If you can guarantee a 6/10 or 7/10 [performance] every week like David did, that is worth its weight in gold.

"Onana is a very confident player, I've seen him doing Cruyff turns and this kind of stuff. But it will only take one or two for him to get caught out. Then it makes you start thinking maybe you shouldn't do that. Hopefully he hits the ground running but it's not as easy as that sometimes.”

Let’s stop the narrative that Onana was ‘bad’ last night.. pic.twitter.com/s9FrD2eWna

— Frank 🧠🇳🇱 (@TenHagEra) July 27, 2023

Foster did, however, praise Onana's technical abilities, although he raised questions over whether the United backline will be able to handle such an intense playing-style.

"He's obviously a very, very modern goalkeeper and that's what it is nowadays," he added. "If Manchester United wanted to improve and progress, they had to sign Onana. That's the way that it goes and it's as simple as that.

"Whether or not the players around him are ready for that and be able to deal with constantly playing out from the back and him stepping up, acting like a real sweeper-keeper.

"I've seen the way he plays and he's super high up, comfortably comes running out with the ball. That remains to be seen [if his team-mates are ready for that]. It'll be an interesting one but I do think it's the right move, probably.”

Thoughts on the signing of Onana? Do you agree with Foster?

Let us know in the comments.