Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has urged struggling goalkeeper Andre Onana to take inspiration from David de Gea, the man he replaced, as he seeks to return to his best.
Ten Hag was keen to sign Onana to compete with De Gea, who ultimately left the club this summer upon the expiry of his contract, but the former Inter stopper has endured a challenging start to life at Old Trafford.
High-profile mistakes against the likes of Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Brentford have ramped up the pressure on Onana, but Ten Hag was keen to remind his current goalkeeper that United greats like De Gea and Peter Schmeichel found themselves in similar situations in their career.
"We know and he knows he will do much better," Ten Hag told a press conference. "Every player who comes into the Premier League needs an integration period but he has to step up.
"However, also big United keepers like Peter Schmeichel and David De Gea, also they started not too good.
"For Andre, it is good to know, from that little bit of history, but also we live now and we live in the future. He has to make his future by making better performances.
"I'm sure he will do that and he has already shown that so many times in big clubs like Barcelona, when he was young. At Ajax, he was in the semi-final of the Champions League. He was in the final of the Champions League [last season with Inter].
"He is a great player and I am sure he will give us performances. I am sure we will have a lot of joy from him.''
Ten Hag also defended under-fire defender Harry Maguire. The centre-back, who remains a regular for England, lost his place in the starting lineup last season and was stripped of the captaincy this summer, but Ten Hag remains adamant that Maguire does not deserve criticism from fans.
Asked about supporters booing Maguire in recent games, Ten Hag responded: "I've not heard it. All of the fans were supportive for us against Brentford and the games before, I think we have a strong bond with our fans.
"I don't think Harry is booed. He doesn't deserve it. His performances against Brentford, and for England, he was very good."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Erik ten Hag offers David de Gea advice to struggling Andre Onana.
