'a Heavy Shirt To Wear' - Being Man Utd Number One

"It is difficult to beryllium a Manchester United goalkeeper successful this moment."

One of Ruben Amorim's last nationalist statements earlier nan world break summed up an rumor that will travel into crisp attraction astatine United's Carrington training crushed this week successful nan build-up to nan Manchester derby astatine Etihad Stadium connected Sunday.

Since Amorim said aft nan 3-2 triumph against Burnley, United person paid £18m to motion 23-year-old highly rated but inexperienced Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp successful penchant to Aston Villa's World Cup victor Emiliano Martinez.

They person besides been working towards an statement pinch Turkish Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor that will let Andre Onana, who costs United £47m erstwhile they signed him from Inter Milan 2 years ago, to time off connected loan.

It intends Amorim must instrumentality pinch Turkey's number 2 goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, who has started each 3 Premier League games this play but made a awesome correction against Burnley and different connected nan opening play that costs a extremity against Arsenal, and looked shaky astatine Fulham, against City aliases manus Lammens his debut successful a beautiful unforgiving environment.

This will beryllium done against nan knowledge that immoderate correction will beryllium seized upon and judgement will beryllium instant and unforgiving.

Firstly, nan wide articulated position that Onana is conscionable not very bully is wrong.

Edwin van der Sar observed nan Cameroon world intimately for 3 years erstwhile he was main executive astatine Ajax.

Widely acknowledged to beryllium 1 of nan champion goalkeepers successful history, Van der Sar was genuinely excited for Onana's move to United and was still backing him aft a disappointing first season.

It is intolerable to ideate personification arsenic level-headed arsenic Van der Sar would talk truthful enthusiastically astir anyone without believing what he was saying to beryllium true.

Onana himself has spoken astir his preamble to life astatine United. "I arrived arsenic nan champion goalkeeper successful nan world and boom, it went down," he told BBC Sport earlier nan 2024 FA Cup final. "It was like, what happened?"

Sources adjacent to Onana person said he was brought to United because of his expertise to play adjacent passes - and ended up having to spell long.

Part of nan logic for that was what happened connected his Old Trafford debut, erstwhile he came good retired of his area during a pre-season friends against Lens and played a walk to Diogo Dalot, who past gave nan shot away. Onana was chipped from 50 yards.

Erik 10 Hag, who had besides worked pinch Onana astatine Ajax, axed David de Gea to bring his caller goalkeeper in, but nan alteration successful strategies reduced nan goalkeeper's effectiveness and nan regular mistakes that followed undermined assurance successful Onana among supporters.

Ten Hag and past Amorim kept picking him, but a clear motion that support internally was ebbing distant followed nan Europa League travel to Lyon successful April.

In nan build-up Onana said he felt United should get done because they were "way better" than nan French club.

The remark itself seemed innocuous. However, erstwhile United midfielder - and a adjacent friend of De Gea - Nemanja Matic seized connected it successful nan pre-match news conference, labelling Onana "one of nan worst goalkeepers successful nan club's history".

It felt for illustration a deliberate effort to constituent people connected behalf of a friend while heaping unit connected Onana astatine nan aforesaid time.

The maneuver worked. Onana made 2 mistakes arsenic nan first limb vanished 2-2.

Amorim gave Bayindir his Premier League debut successful nan crippled that followed astatine Newcastle and, while Onana did look to extremity nan play arsenic first prime fixed he started some legs of nan Europa League semi-final and nan final, nan erstwhile religion successful him from nan coaching broadside - Ten Hag delayed his call-up to nan Africa Cup of Nations successful 2024 truthful agelong that nan only crippled he missed was nan FA Cup triumph astatine Newport - had reduced.

Bayindir started nan last convention crippled of past word and then, moreover though Onana had recovered from nan hamstring wounded he suffered correct astatine nan commencement of pre-season, kept his spot for nan first 3 matches of this campaign.

Onana's only outing has travel successful nan Carabao Cup conclusion astatine League Two Grimsby, erstwhile he was astatine responsibility for their 2nd goal.

Evidently, Amorim felt he needed a caller goalkeeper. Onana is nan 1 he has decided he is consenting to do without.

United's mentation for choosing Lammens complete Martinez connected transportation deadline time is that they wanted personification who will beryllium capable to play a cardinal domiciled successful their squad successful 3 aliases 4 years' time, erstwhile they dream to beryllium challenging for awesome honours again.

This mentation is solid.

What it ignores is nan swirl of sound that gathers erstwhile immoderate United keeper makes a mistake.

"To beryllium nan number 1 astatine United you request to person rhino skin," said Phil Jones, who made 229 appearances successful 12 seasons astatine nan club, mostly successful defence.

During Jones' clip astatine nan club, 7 goalkeepers featured successful nan Premier League - Ben Amos, Anders Lindegaard, David de Gea, Victor Valdes, Sergio Romero, Joel Pereira and Dean Henderson.

"The Manchester United garment is simply a dense 1 to wear," he said.

"What is perfectly paramount is that nan goalkeeper is calm and tin woody pinch definite situations. He needs to beryllium commanding and not beryllium flapping astatine crosses.

"If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, it becomes infectious very quickly and spreads done nan protect unit. If a goalkeeper made a mistake, it was almost for illustration you couldn't get it retired of your strategy until nan adjacent game."

That is why Jones feels De Gea - nan goalkeeper he played astir often pinch - turned retired to beryllium truthful good, moreover if he had a reliable commencement earlier yet going connected to triumph 4 nine subordinate of nan twelvemonth awards.

"When I opportunity rhino skin, he had it," said Jones.

"It is ruthless successful a measurement but he almost had this expertise not to care. He was rather blase astir nan errors he made, moreover successful training sometimes. But erstwhile you needed him he was there."

De Gea, Van der Sar and Peter Schmeichel are wide acknowledged arsenic United's modern-day awesome goalkeepers.

Yet location were others successful betwixt who helped nan nine triumph Premier League titles.

Mark Bosnich and Raimond van der Gouw featured successful 37 of nan 38 games successful nan 1999-2000 championship-winning campaign. World Cup victor Fabian Barthez was successful extremity for 30 matches of nan 2000-01 title triumph. He did nan aforesaid successful 2002-03, erstwhile Roy Carroll played 10 times.

The Northern Irishman, who is presently moving arsenic an academy coach successful Saudi Arabia, has first-hand acquisition of what it takes to beryllium a goalkeeper astatine United.

"I arrived from Wigan successful 2001," he said. "I was 23 and was down Fabian Barthez.

"It's not easy playing for Manchester United astatine nan moment, but it was difficult backmost past because everyone was expecting nan caller Peter Schmeichel.

"Even then, if you made a mistake, it was large news. You had to beryllium mentally beardown and that is still nan case.

"But we are not robots; we are each quality beings. It is not truthful overmuch what you do connected nan transportation arsenic what you do disconnected it."

Carroll knows nan effect 1 infinitesimal arsenic a United subordinate tin have.

He won a convention title for nan nine and came connected arsenic a substitute successful nan 2004 FA Cup last triumph complete Millwall. He made 72 United appearances successful full arsenic portion of a profession than spanned astir 500 elder games for 11 clubs crossed 5 countries.

Yet mention his sanction and nan chances are nan Pedro Mendes changeable he dropped complete nan goalline and scooped to information earlier nan adjunct referee had noticed is nan infinitesimal that springs to mind.

"I made a large correction against Spurs and that is what group talk about," he said.

"I return it. I laughter astir it. At nan time, I wasn't laughing because I was upset, but arsenic you get older you get much relaxed."

Carroll is wary of pushing nan intelligence toughness connection excessively acold because he knows repeating nan connection and adopting it are very different.

He talks openly astir nan slump - injury-related alternatively than down to mistakes - he suffered during his career, which is why he talks astir off-field support, not conscionable for United goalkeepers.

"Nobody taught maine really to power nan intelligence side," he said. "All I was bought to do was beryllium a goalkeeper - train each day, play each weekend.

"I played successful each nan English leagues and, nary matter if you are astatine nan bottommost aliases nan top, you person to beryllium mentally strong.

"You tin beryllium nan champion keeper successful nan world but, erstwhile you suffer nan intelligence broadside of it, it tin break you, for illustration it did pinch maine for rather a while.

"That's why I effort thief nan young goalkeepers because nan unit now is simply a batch much intense."