We ‘signed’ £42m David De Gea replacement and Manchester United won a trophy

After 11 years as Manchester United’s number one, Erik ten Hag could potentially replace David De Gea between the sticks ahead of the 2023/24 season.

After establishing himself as one of the best ‘keepers in world football, De Gea has hit a slow downward trajectory recently, with the Spaniard guilty of making multiple mistakes over the last few seasons. Despite the 32-year-old ending last season with the most clean sheets in the Premier League, De Gea’s proneness to errors and flawed passing ability has left Ten Hag looking for a new United goalkeeper.

A younger ‘keeper with a more modern skill set seems to be what will tick Ten Hag’s boxes for a new number one, with a number of players being linked with a move to United this summer. Diogo Costa, Andre Onana, and the man who replaced De Gea in the Spanish national team, David Raya, are just some of the options who could fit the bill.

So, if United were to sign a new goalkeeper, who could they target? We used the Football Manager 2023 editor to make a new ‘keeper the priority for United in the summer transfer window, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the entire 2023/24 season to see who they could sign and how they could perform.

Goalkeeper signed: Andre Onana (Inter) – £42m

In the FM23 simulation, United opted to make a move for Inter’s Onana, with the Cameroon international signing for £42million. As expected, Onana was United’s number one, but an injury halfway through the season saw the 27-year-old miss a large chunk of the campaign, with De Gea taking his place until his return in mid-May.

Onana made 26 appearances during the simulation whilst De Gea made 29, which proved useful for comparison. In Onana’s 26 games, the ‘keeper kept 10 clean sheets whilst averaging a rating per game of 7.21, the highest out of the United defenders and goalkeepers.

The Cameroon international also saved three out of three penalties he faced, averaged five saves per 90 minutes and won the player of the match award six times. His passing accuracy was 85% whilst he also managed one assist, which compared to De Gea’s 60% showed how much better the Onana was with the ball at his feet.

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De Gea kept seven more clean sheets than Onana, but based on other statistics, it doesn’t mean he was the better ‘keeper. De Gea averaged just two saved per 90 minutes, won POTM twice, and averaged a rating much lower than Onana (7.21)

At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United’s best XI looked like at the end of the 2023/24 season as predicted by Football Manager 2023:

Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Garnacho; Rashford.

Despite registering fewer clean sheets and appearances than De Gea, Onana’s high average rating put him in the best XI over the Spaniard, proving he was the better player across the season. With no striker signed, Rashford started up top, with Alejandro Garnacho becoming a regular on the left, grabbing 11 goals and 10 assists in all competitions.

In United’s first 14 league games with Onana in net, Ten Hag’s side won nine, drew one and lost four, keeping eight clean sheets in that time as they remained amongst the Premier League title challenge. But, the ‘keeper was missed towards the end of the campaign, and some poor form saw United almost miss out on the top four.

Five defeats in United’s final nine games saw United drop to fourth in the league, but they managed to secure their place in the top four, finishing four points ahead of Newcastle in sixth to claim a Champions League spot. 21 wins, five draws and 12 losses saw Ten Hag’s side pick up 68 points, seven fewer than the 2022/23 season.

A recognised striker was missed, with United scoring just 58 goals in the Premier League in the simulation. But, they did do well in the cup competitions, with United winning a European trophy for the first time since 2017.

Bruno Fernandes netted the only goal of the game as United beat Milan 1-0 in the Europa League final after they dropped down to the competition following their exit from the Champions League group stages. Ten Hag’s side didn’t have the same fortune in the domestic cups though, losing 2-0 to Man City in the Carabao Cup fourth round and 2-0 to Liverpool in the FA Cup third round.

Overall, FM23 predicts that Onana could be a perfect fit at Manchester United, with the ‘keeper outperforming De Gea in almost every statistic. His strong passing ability and impressive shot-stopping saw him help United to a strong first half of the season, and he returned to pick up the POTM award in the Europa League final, showing how important he could be if he made the move to United.

Would you like to see United sign Andre Onana? Let us know in the comments!

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