Ten Hag improves this trailing component by taking a severe training step – report

In the summer, Manchester United made the difficult choice to let go of longtime team member David de Gea. Andre Onana, who had just played for Inter Milan in the Champions League final, took his place.

Erik ten Hag was forced to take the decisive action because the Spaniard attempted to build play from the back but made a number of high-profile mistakes and was generally subpar.

With the former Ajax shot-stopper in goal, United was expected to improve as the Cameroonian, who is known for being skilled with his feet, played out from the back.

Onana’s difficult start

However, the 27-year-old has struggled with his shot-stopping while the lack of a stable back-four has meant he is yet to convince while playing out from the back either.

The United No 1 showed his superior passing skills against Liverpool and the manager will hope to see more of it in the weeks to come and the team are training to improve this aspect.

As The Manchester Evening News pointed out, Onana was seen training with the main group on the eve of the West Ham game and was involved in the close-quarter drills

United usually train in groups with the goalkeepers training away from the main group but Ten Hag seems to be intent on improving his team’s passing from the back.

“It has become common practice during United training sessions for the keepers to do their own thing while the outfield players focus on what they need to work on.

Onana training

“However, with playing out from the back being such a crucial element of football these days, this approach does seem outdated.

“Ten Hag appears to have noticed this and has brought Onana into the outfield training sessions this week where he appears to have been involved in a close-quarters drill with his teammates.”

It has not been an easy start to life for the goalie and getting his passing right is the first step to helping the Cameroonian getting his mojo back.

The Dutch boss will be hoping Onana can prove the manager fought for his inclusion in the summer.