Rio Ferdinand urges Andre Onana to ‘buck up his ideas’ after Manchester United win

Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana to ‘buck up his ideas’ after his error in the win over Brentford on Saturday.

Onana was at fault for Brentford’s opening goal, which saw United destined for another defeat before they scored twice in added time to turn it around 2-1.

The Cameroon international got a touch on Mathias Jensen’s low shot but it was a weak attempt at a stop as the Bees took the lead at Old Trafford.

Onana only moved to Old Trafford this summer, replacing David de Gea, but he has already made a number of high-profile mistakes, including in Champions League defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.

Rio Ferdinand compares Andre Onana’s mistake to his own

Quizzed about Onana’s big celebrations after United beat Brentford, Ferdinand drew comparisons to his own performance for England against Greece in 2001, in which he did not play well but David Beckham’s late free-kick secured a draw.

‘I saw a bit of myself, I didn’t play well when England drew against Greece when David Beckham scored that free-kick [to famously secure World Cup 2002 qualification],’ Ferdinand told his FIVE podcast on Monday.

‘I remember celebrating with Becks and thanking him. I saw a bit of that in Onana. When you make a mistake… I could sense the relief that he had.

‘He should have made the save. In training, he probably makes that save every day. I saw a quote from Peter Schmeichel, who spoke to him and told him not to let [the pressure of] Man Utd get to you.’

Andre Onana needs to ‘buck up his ideas’

Ferdinand went on to say that Onana needs to ‘buck up his ideas’ and that he was similar to David de Gea when he first arrived at Old Trafford.

‘At the moment, there are nerves that are in there, because of the mistakes. A lot of people are asking if he can recover. I was there when De Gea came. He was obviously younger but he didn’t start well, you know. I think in his first 10 games or so, the numbers are similar to Onana.’

‘If you were to speak to Onana himself, I think he would say, ‘This is not the start I wanted, this is no way near the level I am used to performing at and this is not the standard required at Man Utd so I need to buck up my ideas’.’

Conclusion

Andre Onana has had a difficult start to life at Manchester United and Rio Ferdinand has urged him to ‘buck up his ideas’ if he is to succeed at Old Trafford. Onana has made a number of high-profile mistakes since joining the club this summer and Ferdinand has drawn comparisons between his own performance for England against Greece in 2001 and Onana’s recent form.

However, Ferdinand also noted that Onana is similar to David de Gea when he first arrived at Old Trafford and that he can recover from his mistakes if he puts in the hard work and dedication.