Former Manchester United full-back Paul Parker has blasted Andre Onana for a string of poor performances since joining the goalkeeper from Inter Milan.
The two-time Premier League winner has urged Erik ten Hag to drop the Cameroon international, who may refuse to play in the AFCON this season, and start Altay Bayindir.
That’s a fair shout, I think, if you want to go down the line of taking Onana out of the spotlight. I’d still argue that could do his confidence even worse.
“I think it’s time to give Altay Bayindir a chance in the goal. I have a friend who lives in Turkey, and he was so positive about him when he moved to Man United from Fenerbahce,” Parker told bettingexpert.com.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to ever mention his name, but now it’s time to make that change. From what I’ve heard, he is a good goalkeeper.
“I saw Onana on many occasions when he played for Ajax, and I thought he was okay, but okay is not enough when you play for the biggest club in the world.”
Parker has always hit out at the reason United signed Onana – to have a keeper with a strong ability to build attacks from the back. Although we haven’t seen him do that yet, it seems like Parker is looking for holes to pin to strengthen his argument. If Ten Hag wants to play with a sweeper type keeper, why should we be listening to a former right-back suggest he knows better?
Parker added: “I keep hearing things about how good a passer he is. People say that he can kick and pass the ball, but that’s not the important thing as a goalkeeper.
“I don’t care about how good he is with his feet. He needs to make saves, and he is not doing that. If he was that good with his feet, why is he not an outfield player then?
“His job is to make saves and to make the right decision when he has the ball, and he made another big, big mistake against Galatasaray.”
However, Parker takes the biscuit when he suggests Ten Hag should recall David de Gea. That won’t be happening.
“I have no idea what they were thinking when they went out and got him. David de Gea earned the right to get his high wage, but this is not about the money. It’s about having a proper goalkeeper.
“I don’t think it’s a lost cause to get David de Gea back, but I think he is so disappointed with the way he was treated by the club and the fans.
“Personally, as I’ve said a thousand times, if I could go back in time, I would have kept him. Of course, I would.
“But I don’t think I would want him to come back because everyone would want him to fail, and the fans would call him out every time he does something wrong in their opinion.
“I think it could ruin his legacy, but it’s a shame because I would love to have him in the team.”
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