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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has insisted that Andre Onana has to quickly get back to his best form and show his quality at his new club.
This season, the Cameroonian has committed a number of high-profile mistakes that have dearly cost United, especially in the Champions League.
Just before the international break, Onana made yet another howler vs. Brentford, but luckily for him, Scott McTominay’s late heroics spared him some blushes.
With United set to face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday, all eyes will be on Onana and how he reacts to the setbacks suffered following his summer move from Inter Milan to United.
Ahead of the game against the Blades, Ten Hag spoke to reporters and said, “He [Onana] knows, we know, he will do much better and as every player who’s coming into the Premier League, you need an integration period but he has to step up.”
“He [Onana] has to build his future by performing better. I’m sure he will. He showed it at Barcelona, at Ajax, at Inter Milan, in the semi-final and in the Champions League final.”
Another player Ten Hag spoke at length about was Harry Maguire.
The Dutchman indicated that he had not heard boos from the United fans directed at the club’s former skipper. Ten Hag explained that the players have a “strong bond” with supporters.
He added that Maguire doesn’t deserve the unfair criticism he receives, before backing the centre-back to build on from his good display vs. Brentford at Old Trafford when he registered an assist for McTominay’s winner.
When asked about Jadon Sancho, Ten Hag was evasive. The United boss remarked that everything had already been said and nothing had changed.
The 53-year-old coach was put to task about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s imminent partial investment into United. A recent report covered by The Peoples Person divulged that Ten Hag is extremely eager to work with the British businessman so as to enhance and improve standards at Old Trafford.
On Ratcliffe, Ten Hag cleverly pointed out, “I’m not involved in this, others in the club are dealing with this, I’m focusing on my team, focusing on the current block and the most important priority is the next game, it’s all about that.”
Ten Hag issued a warning to his players against underestimating Paul Heckingbottom’s men, especially at their own home.
He noted, “Every game in the Premier League is difficult, if you saw the results against City and Spurs they are very close games. If you don’t play your best football you can lose.”
The United manager gave an update on Victor Lindelof and said that the 29-year-old is ready to play. This is after Sweden’s game against Belgium was called off due to an incident in which a suspect gunned down three Swedish fans, killing two of them.
Ten Hag said on Lindelof, “The world is crazy. He didn’t sleep all night. He came back and he was back at training yesterday. Our thoughts are with Victor, the families of the victims and the victims. Victor has energy and is ready to play this match [against Sheffield United].”
