“It was a difficult time for me” - Manchester United summer signing details tough start to life in the Premier League

Andre Onana recently opened up on his difficult start to life at Manchester United in the Premier League.

Onana left Serie A giants Inter Milan for a reported fee of £47 million to take over as the main goalkeeper at Old Trafford after David De Gea's contract ended. However, his begining at the club has not been smooth.

Onana has struggled to find the form he had with Inter, and this has seen him make mistakes in big games. He had difficult moments in the UEFA Champions League against Bayern Munich, Galatasaray, and Copenhagen. Notably, the Red Devils crashed out in the group stages after conceding 15 goals in just 6 games.

This season, Onana has conceded a shocking 54 goals across all competitions, with the Manchester United goalkeeper letting in 36 goals in 26 Premier League games. His poor goalkeeping has led to a lot of criticism this season, and the 27-year-old has acknowledged just how tough life has been at Old Trafford.

He said (via Mirror):

“It was a difficult time for me. Now I'm feeling a bit better. I already know the goalkeeper that I am, but it took me six months or seven months not to play good, just to feel good. When I moved from Amsterdam to Milan, that adaptation was quite easy. But it took me seven, eight months here. It was just time to learn and go game by game."

Onana added:

“Everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home, for so many reasons, in a new country. It was just moments. Sometimes you're faced with a difficult situation, just not feeling good, not playing good, because I didn’t think I started to play good."

Andre Onana revealed that he had learned from his goalkeeping errors in the Champions League. He continued:

“So, it was just something strange, but it was a good time for me to learn. because I learned a lot at that time. Playing in the final of the Champions League for Inter and being knocked out in the first stage a few months later, was a big lesson for me. Now I think I have everything on my back, learn from it, move on and try to be happy. That is the most important thing.”

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Andre Onana reveals the support he has received from Manchester United teammates and manager

In recent times, Onana's goalkeeping has somewhat improved. The Manchester United goalkeeper has been part of their improved form this year, as they have lost just once in 2024 in their recent match against Fulham.

Across the Premier League and FA Cup, he has conceded just seven goals in seven games, which is clearly an improvement from 15 goals in 6 UCL games.

The goalkeeper has hailed his Manchester United teammates and manager for supporting him, stating (via Mirror):

“My team-mates, 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, for others six months and others no time. You have that personality to turn the situation around'."

He added:

“They always believed in me and told me from the beginning 'Andre, the quality is there, it’s just a matter of time'. Everything is behind me, now we have to move on and together a great time will come.”

Andre Onana will hope he can lead Manchester United to the FA Cup, but they first have to deal with Liverpool in the quarter-finals.