Andre Onana vs David de Gea vs Dean Henderson: How Inter Milan keeper compares to Man Utd legend ahead of transfer
MANCHESTER UNITED are on the brink of signing Andre Onana from Inter Milan to become their new No1.
The Cameroonian star will replace David de Gea as the Red Devils’ first choice between the sticks.
De Gea, 32, was United’s goalkeeper for 12 years, having been signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011.
No keeper in the 20-time champions’ history has kept more clean sheets than the Spaniard – but United boss Erik ten Hag has decided to move on.
Following De Gea’s emotional farewell upon the conclusion of his £375,000 a week contract – Onana is set to agree terms weekly terms worth around £100k.
United have lodged a £35.8million bid for the 27-year-old, which falls below Inter’s valuation.
But a compromise is set to be found in the coming days.
Onana will join a United goalkeeping pool that still includes homegrown stopper Dean Henderson.
The England international spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, but has returned to pre-season with United.
Henderson, 26, has made it clear that he has no interest in sitting on the bench again and could be moved on later in the window.
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He spent the first half of last season as Forest’s No1 before suffering a season-ending calf injury in January.
As Onana nears a move to Man United, let’s take a look at how his stats during the 2022-23 season compare with those of De Gea and Henderson.
In terms of availability, De Gea was easily the most dependable of the trio – featuring in all 38 of United’s Prem matches.
Henderson was limited to just 18 league games for Forest due to his aforementioned thigh issue – while Onana played 24 times in Serie A as he juggled responsibilities with Inter stalwart Samir Handanovic.
Onana conceded one goal a game on average, compared to De Gea’s 1.13 and Henderson’s 1.72 in a significantly weaker Forest team.
De Gea managed 17 clean sheets in 38 games, while Onana produced eight in 24 and Henderson six in 18.
This means that De Gea kept clean sheets in 45 per cent of his matches – while Onana and Henderson kept shut-outs in an identical 33 per cent of their games.
Henderson was unsurprisingly the busiest of the three, averaging 3.1 saves a game compared to De Gea’s 2.7 and Onana’s 2.6.
Onana had the highest save percentage, however, stopping 71.8 per cent of shots faced – with De Gea saving 69.9 per cent and Henderson 63.5.
Part of the reason Ten Hag opted to get rid of De Gea was his desire for a goalkeeper more comfortable with the ball at his feet.
United’s former No1 completed 68.3 per cent of his passes, while Henderson, in a far less ball dominant team, made 56.8 per cent of his.
Onana, meanwhile, completed 79.2 per cent – hugely helping Inter in starting moves and providing another option.
Ironically, none of the three keepers outperformed the xG of the shots they faced.
De Gea conceded 42 goals from an xG of 41.45, while Henderson let in 31 from an xG of just 27.4.
Even Onana at Inter conceded 22 goals from an xG of 19.54 – actually making De Gea the member of the trio that stopped the greater majority of what he should have – despite his replacement’s far better ability to play out from the back.