"There are some major frailties" - Ex-Manchester United coach tells Ruben Amorim to replace key player
Former Manchester United coach under Sir Alex Ferguson, Rene Meulensteen, has urged Ruben Amorim to replace Andre Onana. The Cameroonian has struggled to impress consistently since he arrived at the club and has been linked with an exit after a poor campaign that saw United finish in 15th, their poorest league finish in half a century.
In a recent interview, the Dutchman said (via Metro):
“It’s vital they look to replace Onana. If you look at Man United's history, they started building a successful team at Old Trafford through the goalkeeper, with Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar, and David De Gea. They must bring confidence to the defence as that galvanises the whole back line. I understood why [Erik] ten Hag brought him in because he worked with him at Ajax. But it’s a different league.”
The former Red Devils coach concluded:
"He didn’t get exposed to too many dangers with what he experienced in Holland or Italy, as he does in the Premier League. There are some major frailties and plenty of mistakes. If there is a better goalkeeper available, they should take him. It is not only the quality, they need a strong personality. Having a really good goalkeeper lays the foundations and is massively important.”
Andre Onana joined Manchester United in the summer of 2023 from Inter Milan for a reported € 50.2 million fee. He has represented the club 101 times, conceding 148 times and keeping 24 clean sheets while helping the team win an FA Cup.
Former Manchester United coach doubts Harry Maguire is good enough for Red Devils
Rene Meulensteen has revealed he doubts whether former Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is good enough to play for the club. The Englishman has endured a mixed spell at the club since he joined from Leicester City for a reported €87 million in 2019.
Meulensteen discussed the defender in a recent interview with Metro, saying:
“Harry Maguire is an interesting one. He’s received praise but it’s more to do with others being bad. To be fairly honest, Harry is not up to the standard of the quality and the calibre that United needs and plenty of examples have shown that. I’m not saying he's a bad player but he lacks certain aspects of his game defensively that don't meet the standards of Man United.”
The former Manchester United coach concluded by highlighting the team could not make the wholesale changes it needed, saying:
"There are question marks around all of them. But because the players are on contracts, you can't just offload them... it will be a complete financial disaster. The issue is, you cannot just suddenly say to 16 players… ‘See you later, off you go.’ Who are you going to replace them with? You can get stuck, and that is my biggest worry.”
Harry Maguire has represented Manchester United 246 times, scoring 15 times and providing eight assists while helping the side win one FA Cup and one League Cup.
