Erik ten Hag signing admits he feared he made mistake joining Man Utd
Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag signed Andre Onana from Inter Milan (Picture: Getty)
Erik ten Hag signing Andre Onana admits he questioned his decision to join Manchester United after his early-season struggles.
Onana completed a £47.2million move from Inter Milan and was tasked with filling the void left by the departure of David de Gea at the end of last season.
The Cameroonian had impressed in Serie A but initially drew criticism at Old Trafford after a number of high-profile errors in his early games.
Despite Ten Hag’s side continuing their topsy-turvy form throughout the campaign, the 28-year-old has found greater consistency recently but admitted there were points he worried he had made the wrong decision in joining the Red Devils.
‘It was really hard [to start off with] but it’s the first time I faced such a situation,’ Onana said in an interview with MUTV.
‘Now I know the league, I know the people, I know the country, I know Manchester – okay, Rainchester! When I look back now, I’m just smiling because it was a big lesson for me. But in the beginning, I was like, “Wow, did I make the right choice?”
‘But I’m definitely 100 per cent sure I made the right choice because Manchester United is the biggest club in this country, it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. Who would say no to come to play for this beautiful club?’
Onana initially struggled at Manchester United (Picture: Getty)
Onana was crucial in United’s FA Cup semi-final win against Coventry (Picture: Getty)
Onana’s penalty-shootout heroics helped United sneak through to their second successive FA Cup final last month, but the team’s hit-and-miss league form has left their hopes of football European football next season hanging by a thread.
Assessing the season, Onana said: ‘The whole season has been a difficult season for all of us, as an individual, as a group.
‘But we always have to stay positive because I don’t think we lost the place in Europe against Burnley and we all have to take responsibility; I start with myself, always.
‘It has been a difficult season. If you put everything on the table, you can speak about a lot of things, like injuries, players, about bad luck.
‘But we are Manchester United, we are such a big club, so we cannot talk about that. We have to stay positive.
‘The game last week is gone. [Be] positive, and if the season is not the best one, I’m sure the coming one will be better.’
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