For a while, United fans were frustrated with Andre Onana's continued start. Since his move from Inter in the summer of 2023, the Cameroonian goalkeeper has made nine errors leading to goals in all competitions, more than any other player in the UK. However, it was not until the match against Newcastle that coach Ruben Amorim decided to remove Onana from the squad, ending a streak of 69 consecutive Premier League appearances.

Sadly, the 4-1 defeat at St James' Park has shown why Amorim, and before them Erik Ten Hag, have put their faith in Onana. They really have no better options. Altay Bayindir, a £4.3m goalkeeper bought at the same time as Onana, is not the solution to their glaring goalkeeping problems.

Against Newcastle, Bayindir made an unforgivable mistake when he passed the ball straight to the Newcastle player (Joelinton), giving Bruno Guimaraes the chance to score the fourth goal. Before that, the 27-year-old goalkeeper also appeared confused when conceding the second goal. Of the 6 shots he faced, Bayindir only saved 2.

Bayindir's distribution was also poor. He completed just 27 of his 57 passes, for a completion rate of 47%. No one on the pitch, including Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, passed the ball as poorly.

Furthermore, Bayindir was also responsible for MU's 3-4 defeat to Tottenham, leading to their elimination from the League Cup. While the Red Devils were hoping for a comeback after reducing the score to 2-3, the Turkish goalkeeper misjudged, allowing Son Heung-min to score from a corner. In shame, Bayindir blamed himself for being fouled by a Tottenham player only to receive a yellow card from the referee.

In the past, United have always had some excellent options in goal. If Peter Schmeichel was absent, Raimond van der Gouw would fill in; Edwin van der Sar was always reliable, but Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster were also good substitutes; or in the David De Gea era, Anders Lindegaard, Sergio Romero and Dean Henderson were always ready to shine.

Amorim doesn't have that luxury now. Bayindir is unlikely to be a permanent starter in place of Onana, while Tom Heaton is only there to fill the void. Heaton has only started three times in goal in less important games since returning to United in 2021. At 38, his contract expires at the end of this season.

So it would be no surprise if Onana was in goal again in the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon. Amorim and the fans will have to pray he doesn't repeat the two disastrous errors that led to the first leg's loss, as this is the only competition that can bring a trophy and a ticket to Europe next season.

Many believe Amorim will look for a solution in the transfer market in the summer. Pep Guardiola's Man City and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have both previously stressed that building a successful team must start with the goalkeeper position, with Ederson and Alisson being signed.

Unfortunately, United are not currently well-off enough to spend freely. He could raise funds by selling Onana, but which team would be willing to spend tens of millions of pounds to bring in a goalkeeper who is prone to making mistakes? And certainly, no goalkeeper of the class capable of solving United's problems would be cheap.

In addition, the Portuguese coach also has too many areas to supplement, even more urgently, from strikers, wingers to central midfielders and central defenders. The goalkeeper position is very important, but is unlikely to be a priority.

With no long-term plan, no short-term solution, Amorim is really stuck in the process of rebuilding MU. For now, he still has to put his trust in Onana and hope for a strong change from him. Besides, he expects the defenders to play more solidly, instead of conceding 48 goals in all competitions, leading to Amorim's winning rate of only 37.5% since taking over MU.

Thanh Hai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/phuc-dung-mu-ruben-amorim-mac-ket-trong-bai-toan-noi-khung-go-post1733757.tpo