Rio Ferdinand defends Manchester United star Paul Scholes called a ‘big concern’

Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes have differing opinions on a Man Utd star (Photo: Twitter/YouTube)

Andre Onana can turn his form around at Manchester United but only with more support from his teammates, Rio Ferdinand says.

His comments come after fellow United legend Paul Scholes admitted he was ‘worried to death’ about the goalkeeper who so far has flattered to deceive at Old Trafford.

Onana was signed from Inter Milan last summer for around £43million, reuniting him with manager Erik ten Hag after playing under him at Ajax.

Ten Hag wanted a keeper more comfortable with their feet, binning off club legend David de Gea as a result, but Onana struggled, making several notable howlers and conceding a whopping 84 goals in 52 appearances, keeping just 13 clean sheets.

Though this can partly be blamed on United’s underperforming and perennially injured defence, the Cameroon international needs to do far better in the upcoming campaign to win over fans and pundits.

‘I still worry about the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper is a big concern for me,’ Scholes recently said on The Overlap.

‘Even in pre-season with some of the goals he conceded. I worry to death about him.’

Andre Onana struggled in his first season at Man Utd (Photo: Getty)

But speaking during a Twitter Q&A, Ferdinand believes Onana can come good if he has the right players around him who are more comfortable with Ten Hag’s tactics.

‘I think Onana can be the right one for us. It was a difficult season last season, conceding a lot of goals, not just him but as a team,’ the former defender said.

‘But I think he has to have defenders that are willing to receive the ball, that want to receive the ball, that get into the right positions to receive the ball. In positions but also body shape, facing the right way to receive the ball.

Will new signings Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui help Onana? (Photo: Getty)

‘If they do that, then we have a chance to really play out and become a better team when we’re playing out, especially from restarts.

‘So yeah, he can be, but I think other things have to work in order for him to be the best that he can be – the goalkeeper that I saw at Ajax and Inter Milan.’

Ferdinand, and by extension Onana, may have gotten their wish with United confirming the double signing of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui on Tuesday night.

Onana played with both defenders at Ajax and the 28-year-old was clearly delighted by the news posting a video of himself wildly dancing on Instagram shortly after the announcement.

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