Waste of money? Man Utd should have stuck with David de Gea instead of spending £47m on Andre Onana, says Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster

Ben Foster, a former Manchester United goalkeeper, has raised questions about the club’s decision to spend a large sum of money on Andre Onana.

Erik ten Hag prioritized the acquisition of a new goalkeeper after David de Gea’s departure. Onana was identified as the replacement with a £47 million deal with Inter. However, some believe that the funds could have been better invested in other areas of Ten Hag’s team.

 Foster, who has committed to a new one-year deal at Wrexham, has told The United Stand of Onana: “He’s obviously a very, very modern goalkeeper and that’s what it is nowadays. 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.”

 Foster added on the approach that he would have taken to big goalkeeping decisions at Old Trafford: “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.”

Onana, the new signing for Manchester United, recently made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid. Despite conceding two goals, United is working on strengthening their defense before the Premier League kicks off on August 14.