Andre Onana arrives at Man United after Erik ten Hag lost faith in David de Gea

The decision for Manchester United to push for a new goalkeeper, Inter Milan’s Andre Onana, for an expected €51 million initial fee, came down to Erik ten Hag.

At the start of the transfer window, the priority of the Manchester United manager was to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur. When it became clear that it was going to be exceptionally difficult to do that, Ten Hag looked at other areas of his team that could be strengthened earlier in the window. The attitude of the manager who had long publicly backed David de Gea also hardened.

The Spaniard had a poor end to the season and there were longer-standing concerns about his ball possession game. Ten Hag regards his goalkeepers as outfield players and, under him, De Gea was coached to think like this, but was never going to be his manager’s ideal player.

Onana has more technical skills in possession and understands the tactical responsibilities regarding positioning if a team wants to press high.

Managers at big clubs such as United want possession-based goalkeepers with the focus more on what they can do with their feet rather than shot-saving ability with their hands, as the position has traditionally been judged. Ederson at Manchester City and Alisson Becker at Liverpool are the best examples of this in the Premier League.

De Gea was always viewed as an excellent shot-stopper by those at United, the man to make the defining saves, more than any other goalkeeper. Ultimately, that was not enough for his club, as it had not been for his country.

The former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper lost his place in the Spain team when Luis Enrique, now manager of Paris Saint-Germain, dropped him for the inexperienced Unai Simon and said: “My goalkeeper must be the first player