By Efosa Taiwo

When Manchester United snapped up Erik Ten Hag from Ajax in April 2022, the last thing anyone would have expected was an extension of the existing style of play. Lucky to have been a student of Johan Cruyff, there was not even the smidget of chance that Man United would escape tinges of the famed ‘total football’ the Dutchman had come to embody.

“In every club we think about what is in the club, what is in the spirit of the club, and that is what we want to know. But also, and that is why they appoint me as the manager, I have to bring something to the club. A dynamic,” said Ten Hag in his first press conference as manager of Man United.

One year down the line, with relative success and the promise of better things to come, Ten Hag was always going to go at full throttle to ensure consolidation on the progress made so far. That is what you don’t expect to come on a silver platter as it requires making some tough managerial decisions regardless of whose ox is gored.

This part of the job was bound to fetch him more foes than friends as some heads will roll, toes will be stepped on, but through it all, he gets his ‘dream team’.

De Gea out, Andre Onana in

The events leading to De Gea’s exit from the team will likely make any United fan cover their face in shame. A legend with 545 appearances, eight trophies won and 12 years spent at the club should not exit the club in the manner De Gea did. It first started with an attempt to cut down his astronomical payslip which he was open to, and then came the twist in the plot: United backstabbing the agreement to chase after a potential newbride who started flashing some greenlight.

But who cares?

De Gea, with due deference to his heydays, was beginning to dip in between the sticks for United, only managing pockets of stellar performances all through the season. For a sustained period of time, he laid helplessly on the slaughter slab of United fans who started to grow impatient and distrustful of his once-glorified goalkeeping skills.

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On the part of Ten Hag, you get the sense that it was more about being the modern day goalkeeper with competence to build play from the back for Man United. Only a few managers would be able to look past Onana when their team lacks a goalkeeper with such a profile.

It also helps that both Onana and Ten Hag share a history of four and a half years working together. Even though their relationship got strained at a time, the Dutch man still reveres his calling card and won’t hesitate to do business with him should the need raise its hand.

What Man United fans should expect

Though his team got edged out of the preeminent trophy in European football, Onana might never be fortunate to have a better game than the 2023 UEFA Champions League final where he pulled up a defining performance.

UEFA’s technical observer, Roberto Martinez, would record in his report: “The evolution of the goalkeepers goes on with Inter’s André Onana less a sweeper-keeper than a holding midfielder at times.

“One pass in the final summed up his impact as he drove the ball low to Lautaro Martínez in the opposition half, taking out six City players to help create a Romelu Lukaku chance.”

Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Marcelo Bielsa, Ten Hag all share something in common: their goalkeepers are more than just shot-stoppers. With his beginnings from Barcelona where the best form of defence is attack, Onana will offer Man United another leg going forward, plus a charismatic personality.