Jaap Stam has praised new Manchester United acquisition André Onana but has asked the club’s fans to be patient and get used to his play style.
Onana worked with Man United manager Erik ten Hag at AFC Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie for a couple of years. He was a league champion and a UEFA Champions League semi finalist under the Dutchman’s tutelage.
He became a sought after goalkeeper thanks to his exploits at Ajax and when ten Hag left the club, he followed suit. After one year at Inter Milan which saw him pick up two trophies and a Champions League runner-up medal, he has linked up with the man who he calls his “master” in football at Manchester United.
Stam, who covers the Eredivisie as a pundit but occasionally crosses over to English football media, talked up the qualities of Onana. The Man United legend is familiar with the Cameroon international and assured fans that he will come good as a replacement for David De Gea.
He sounded a note of warning, however, to them, insisting that they do not hurry him and exercise patience to get used to him. “Andre is very comfortable on the ball,” Stam told the Manchester United website. “I worked with Andre Onana at Ajax, when I was taking the Under-23s, and when he was there, and came through at Ajax.
“So he played a lot of games with myself in the Under-23s in the second league in Holland. And he’s a player who is, at first, he’s a very good person. He’s very calm and every down to earth. He likes to joke as well. So you can laugh with him as well.
“But he’s a very, very honest person and a very good goalkeeper. His reflexes are immense, they are very good. He’s very quick, on the line as well and coming out.
“He reads the game well and is good on the ball. He’s very comfortable, always. You know, he’s delaying, at times, as well, he’s trying to suck players in and then playing that decisive pass through the middle.
“Probably, a lot of fans will think, okay, what’s he doing now? So you need to get used to that a little bit as well. But that is how the modern game is being played by goalkeepers who are very confident on the ball and find the right pass.
“He’s very good with his left foot as well, so he can play with his right but also with his left. He’s not afraid to use that as well. So he’s an athlete in goal, which is very exciting to see.”
