David de Gea is outperforming André Onana in virtually every metric, which begs the question: Did Manchester United do the right thing by replacing him?
The Spaniard left Old Trafford after 12 years in the summer of 2023 after failing to agree the terms of a new contract.
He was replaced by £43m signing André Onana, who had just reached the Champions League final with Inter Milan and used to play under Erik ten Hag at Ajax.
Onana has arguably been among United's best players this season, but a series of high-profile errors during his 18-month stay, including one that led to a goal against Brighton on Sunday, have brought him into question. It doesn't help that United are 13th in the table.
The Cameroonian has already made four mistakes that have led him to score goals this season, while De Gea has made none at Fiorentina, where he joined this summer.
In 29 games, Onana has scored 41 goals, while in 19, De Gea has conceded 22. Both have kept a clean sheet on seven occasions, but Onana has done so in 10 more games.
David de Gea is outperforming André Onana in most of the major metrics of this campaign.
The Spaniard has found a new life after joining Fiorentina in Italy over the summer.
Meanwhile, André Onana has endured another difficult campaign and howled on Sunday.
It is not uncommon for elite goalkeepers to stay at top clubs into their 30s. Manuel Neuer continues to be Bayern Munich's leading man at 38 years old. Gianluigi Buffon remained at Juventus until he was 43.
At 34 years old, De Gea still has a lot to give. He won the Premier League Golden Glove in his final season at Old Trafford. Fiorentina is benefiting from his presence, occupying sixth place in Serie A.
According to Opta, De Gea saves an average of 72.5 percent of shots on goal, a total that would place him among the best players in the Premier League.
By contrast, Onana's record of 63.7 per cent places him among the lowest goalkeepers in the Premier League this campaign.
Digging deeper, De Gea makes three saves every 90 minutes, while Onana only manages 2.5. The Spaniard is also making more saves on shots inside the box and from further away.
He has achieved the number one spot with La Viola, producing a series of memorable moments.
Against Como in November, he made a spectacular triple save that helped his team to victory.
In the 61st minute, and with his team up 1-0 after a first-half goal from Yacine Adli, De Gea first got down low to make a brilliant save from Edoardo Goldaniga, who finished off a beautiful floating cross into the box. . .
United let De Gea go after 12 seasons in 2023 because they couldn't reach a new deal
Onana arrived from Inter Milan for £43m and although he has had moments of brilliance, he has also been prone to making mistakes.
The ball then fell perfectly to defender Federico Barba in acres of space, but the former United goalkeeper showed brilliant reactions to thwart him, before managing to deflect a third attempt down the line.
Fiorentina manager Raffaele Palladino was stunned by De Gea's remarkable saves, suggesting he appears to be the same age he was when he left Atletico Madrid for the Red Devils in 2011.
'We are Beltrán, who chase opponents and run like a defender. We are Riccardo Sottil who comes in and makes the difference. “We are De Gea, who makes reaction stops as if he were 20 years old,” Palladino told DAZN.
De Gea has also saved two of the three penalties he has faced, while Onana has only saved one of four, which is still a decent effort.
Part of the reason United signed Onana was for better distribution, but his has only been marginally better than De Gea's. Onana has made 72.89 percent of his passes, while De Gea has made 70.9 percent.
And the Spaniard's long passes have been much better. A total of 47.18 percent of his long balls find their target, compared to Onana's 32.46.