Man Utd summer signing vows to 'SHINE' after tricky start

Cameron Smith

• 1 Mar 2024 20:02 GMT
• 4 min read

Andre Onana has promised he will “shine” at Manchester United after a difficult start to his career at Old Trafford.

The Cameroon international joined Man Utd from Inter Milan for €50.2 million last summer and he was at fault for several goals during the Red Devils’ disastrous Champions League campaign.

Onana was widely criticised during the early months of his time in England, however he has recovered in recent weeks and now has the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the Premier League this season.

The Man Utd shot-stopper has admitted his early struggles were “difficult,” but he’s vowed to “shine” at Old Trafford.

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What has Andre Onana said?

“I already know the goalkeeper that I am,” Onana admitted to the media (as per The Independent). “It took me six months or seven months not to play good, just to feel good.

“It was a difficult time for me. Now I’m feeling a bit better because everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home because of so many reasons, a new country.

“But now I’m feeling good. I don’t want to talk about my performance because I know the goalkeeper I am and I have done much more than what I just did.

“So, for me, the most important thing is to be set, to be happy and I will shine.

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Onana was then asked if he was over-critical of himself after making a string of errors at the start of his Man Utd career. “I don’t think but it was just moments,” he replied.

“Sometimes you are facing difficult situations and I had a difficult six or seven months just feeling good, not playing good, because I think I didn’t start to play good.

“It was just something strange, I don’t know. It was also a good time for me to learn because I learned a lot at that time.

“Playing in the final of the Champions League and being knocked out in the first stage after a few months, it was a big lesson for me.

“Now I think I have everything on my back, learn it and move on, try to be happy. That is the most important thing.”

Despite a tricky start to life at Old Trafford, Onana believes he is now heading in the righ direction. He said: “Yeah, I think I had a turning point, but not on the pitch because, like I said, more mental because everything was different.

“Of course, I moved last season from Amsterdam to Milan, but that adaptation was quite easy.

“But it took me seven, eight months here. It was just time to learn and just go game by game. I hope we will end on top,” Onana continued.

“My team-mates, my players, they always reminded me who I am and the goalkeeper I am and why I came to this club.

“They told me ‘Andre, it took some players two years, others six months, for others no time, and you have that personality to turn the situation [around]’.

“They always believed in me, they told me from the beginning, ‘Andre, listen, the quality is there, it’s just a matter of time.’

“I am very happy, especially with the supporters, the fans. They were nice with me even in difficult periods and I’m very thankful. I can only thank them.

“I think everything is behind me. Now we have to move on and I think together a great time will come. We just have to do the right things and I think the future will be brilliant for all of us.”

Man Utd face reigning champions and local rivals Manchester City on Sunday.