David de Gea is outperforming Andre Onana in pretty much every metric, prompting the question: were Manchester United right to replace him?
The Spaniard left Old Trafford after 12 years in the summer of 2023 after failing to agree terms on a new contract.
He was replaced by £43million signing Andre Onana, who had just reached the Champions League final with Inter Milan and used to play under Erik ten Hag at Ajax.
Onana has arguably been among United’s better performers this season but a series of high-profile blunders over his 18-month stay, including one leading to a goal against Brighton on Sunday, have seen him questioned. It doesn’t help that United are 13th in the table.
The Cameroonian has already made four errors leading to goals this season, whereas De Gea has made none at Fiorentina, who he joined over the summer.
In 29 appearances, Onana has shipped 41 goals, whereas in 19 appearances, De Gea has conceded 22. Both have kept seven clean sheets, but Onana has done so in 10 games more.
David de Gea is outperforming Andre Onana in most of the major metrics this campaign
The Spaniard has found a new lease of life after joining Fiorentina in Italy over the summer
Meanwhile, Andre Onana has endured another tricky campaign, making a howler on Sunday
It is not uncommon for elite goalkeepers to stay at the biggest clubs into their late 30s. Manuel Neuer is still Bayern Munich’s go-to man at 38. Gianluigi Buffon stayed with Juventus until he was 43.
At 34, De Gea still has a lot to give. He won the Premier League golden glove in his final season at Old Trafford. Fiorentina are benefiting from his presence, sitting sixth in Serie A.
According to Opta, De Gea is saving an average of 72.5 per cent of shots on target, a total that would put him among the Premier League’s top performers.
By contrast, Onana’s record of 63.7 per cent sees him rank among the lowest of all Premier League goalkeepers this campaign.
Diving deeper, De Gea is making three saves per 90 minutes whereas Onana is only managing 2.5. The Spaniard is also managing more saves from shots inside the box as well as from longer range.
He has nailed down the number one spot with La Viola, producing a series of memorable moments.
Against Como in November, he made a spectacular triple save to help his side to victory.
With 61 minutes on the clock, and his side 1-0 up after a first-half strike from Yacine Adli, De Gea first got low to make a brilliant stop from Edoardo Goldaniga who latched on the end of a lovely floated cross into the box.
Onana was brought in for £43million from Inter Milan and while he has had moments of brilliance, he has also been error prone
The ball then fell perfectly to defender Federico Barba in acres of space but the ex-United keeper displayed brilliant reactions to thwart him, before managing to hook away a third effort on the line.
Fiorentina’s boss Raffaele Palladino was left stunned by De Gea’s remarkable saves, suggesting he is looking like the sge age he was when he left Atletico Madrid for the Red Devils in 2011.
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David de Gea makes incredible triple save for Fiorentina as keeper continues career renaissance
‘We are Beltran who chases down opponents and runs like a defender. We are Riccardo Sottil who comes on and makes the difference. We are De Gea who makes reaction saves as if he’s aged 20,’ Palladino told DAZN.
De Gea has also saved two of the three penalties he has faced, whereas Onana has only stopped one of four – still a decent effort.
Part of the reason why United brought in Onana was for better distribution, but his has only been marginally better than De Gea’s. Onana has hit 72.89 per cent of his passes accurately, while De Gea stands on 70.9 per cent.
And the Spaniard’s long-range passing has been much better. A grand total of 47.18 per cent of his long balls find their man, compared to 32.46 from Onana.
