Man United one step away from giving Andre Onana what he needs with perfect signing

Andre Onana went through a lot of doubts in his first few months at Manchester United. For the first time in his career, the 28-year-old began to question himself, to wonder whether he had made the right decision in moving to Old Trafford.

Onana had looked like he would slot in perfectly when he patrolled 20 yards outside his area while his team attacked in his first pre-season appearance, against Real Madrid in Houston. That came soon after his £47m move from Inter Milan and not long after he left the Champions League final in Istanbul with Pep Guardiola's praise ringing in his ears.

Guardiola had called the goalkeeper one of the best in the world when it comes to helping with the build-up play and his comfort on the ball and aggressive positioning signalled an immediate contrast with his predecessor David de Gea.

ALSO READ: United still in talks with free agent despite three transfer bids

ALSO READ: £40m transfer praised by everyone but ends in embarrassment

But when Onana was beaten from the centre circle by Florian Sotoca in the Old Trafford friendly win against Lens it kickstarted a period of uncertainty. He was fortunate not to concede a late penalty on his competitive debut against Wolves and endured a disastrous Champions League campaign as United conceded 15 goals in six games, finishing bottom of what had looked a routine group.

When Onana blundered on the opening night of the group stage in a 4-3 defeat at Bayern Munich he told his teammates he would front up during broadcast interviews, but the mistakes continued to flow and it was impossible to stick his chest out after every error.

United didn't see the best of him with his feet either. The absence of their best ball-playing centre-back, in Lisandro Martinez, compromised the team's ability to play out. Onana ended up launching most of his clearances long.

He did improve as the season went on, however. By May he could joke about his difficult start and explain how he had now settled in, getting used to the city and adapting to the Premier League. He wasn't faultless in the second half of last season but he was much better, certainly good enough to suggest he was an upgrade on De Gea.

We didn't see the best of his distribution, however. We never really got to see the goalkeeper that Guardiola had raved about. That was down to the rotating cast of defenders in front of him, as much as anything. He had 18 different centre-back pairings to build relationships with. It's no surprise they would often look to get the ball out of danger.

That could change next season and more patient build-up play from the back is likely to be a key tenant of the 'game model' for United being drawn up by technical director Jason Wilcox. In Onana, they have a goalkeeper capable of delivering it.

The key next season will be developing more sustained partnerships. The return of Martinez as a regular left-sided centre-back will be key for the Argentine's willingness to take the ball under pressure and his ability to break lines with a forward pass or dribble away from the press.

The style could also be boosted by the potential £42m arrival of Matthijs de Ligt. Ajax coaches felt he ticked the boxes for their 'total football' style as an 11-year-old and he spent time playing in midfield during his rise through the ranks, honing his comfort on the ball.

A centre-back pairing of De Ligt and Martinez would immediately transform United's defence in possession. It would give Onana options on either side to play short too and could help bring the best out of the biggest asset in his game.