Man United have a goalkeeper problem, but solving it might have to wait

As he walked into his first Friday news conference of the season, coach Ruben Amorim was keen to point out the upgrade Manchester United’s Carrington training center has undergone over the summer. A designated media theater has been set up in the first-team building as part of the £50 million revamp and on his first visit, a smiling Amorim was suitably impressed.

“Better, eh?” he said as he sat down in front of reporters to answer questions ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign.

With the cameras on, he spoke for around 20 minutes about some of the other changes the club have made since the end of last season. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko have arrived to give the squad a fresh look. Amorim has even changed the way his team prepare for home games, deciding it’s better that they meet at Carrington and travel to the stadium later than have his players eat their prematch meal at Old Trafford and wait around for hours until kickoff.

But among the sound bites on Sesko, team preparations and Arsenal, there was a key point that Amorim wanted to get across. Yes, he is hoping for a much-improved season after United’s worst domestic campaign for more than 50 years. The one caveat: “We cannot change everything in four weeks.”

This feeling was particularly pertinent after the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal. Altay Bayindir’s mistake, which allowed Arsenal left back Riccardo Calafiori to score the winner, prompted an inquisition in the postmatch news conference about why United have not signed a new goalkeeper this summer. Amorim chose to defend Bayindir and double down, saying that he’s “happy” with his goalkeeping group, which also includes André Onana and Tom Heaton. In his head, though, you can imagine he was repeating his quote from three days earlier: “We can’t change everything in one summer.”

Sources told ESPN that signing a new first-team goalkeeper was discussed as early as January, but after a season in which United managed just 44 Premier League goals — the fifth-worst mark in 2024-25 — Amorim and recruitment staff decided it was more important to rebuild the attack. More than £200 million has been spent on Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko in the hope United will have more of a cutting edge. It does, however, mean that other improvements to the squad — namely in goal and in midfield — might have to wait. CEO Omar Berrada has already squeezed every last penny out the budget.

It’s similar to the situation former coach Erik ten Hag faced when he took over at Old Trafford in 2022. The Dutchman identified very quickly that he needed a different goalkeeper from David De Gea, the No. 1 at the time. But with other positions also in need of strengthening, Ten Hag chose instead to spend his money on Lisandro Martínez, Casemiro, Antony and Tyrell Malacia.

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There was hope that De Gea might learn to become better on the ball with a year of coaching. In the end, Ten Hag decided to cut ties with the Spaniard and sign Onana in summer 2023.

Onana has endured a roller coaster two years at United. There have been some stunning saves, particularly one on a shot by Liam Delap against Ipswich Town in Amorim’s first game in charge. Yet there has also been a catalog of mistakes. Two against Lyon in the Europa League in April saw Amorim decide to drop the Cameroon international for the next Premier League game against Newcastle United.

It sums up Amorim’s predicament that at St. James’ Park he picked Bayindir, who then also made an error in a 4-1 defeat.

Amorim can make a strong argument that United should replace Onana. In his two years in the Premier League, he has made five mistakes that have directly led to goals — the fifth-most by any goalkeeper during the same period. His save percentage of 68.5 ranks only 11th in the league, while he ranks 12th for goals prevented per 90 minutes.

United have looked at other goalkeepers during the transfer window. Aston Villa knocked back a loan bid for Emiliano Martínez shortly after Onana suffered the hamstring injury that kept him sidelined during preseason. There was brief interest in Joan García before it became clear he wanted to join Barcelona from Espanyol. United are also looking at Senne Lammens at Antwerp, but he’s not considered a No.1.

The message from United sources since the defeat to Arsenal is that any additional transfer funds raised by departures — most likely Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund — are likely to be reinvested in a midfielder rather than a goalkeeper. Onana is available for around £30 million, but there has been little interest since a tentative enquiry from Monaco in June. The club expect hi to stay, and he’s expected to reclaim his place for the trip to Fulham on Sunday, and as things stand, he will remain United’s No. 1 for at least another year.

The game at Craven Cottage gives United the chance to build on the positivity generated by the performance against Arsenal and put their first points on the board. Amorim has made a lot of changes in an attempt to bury the memory of last season and start moving forward, but the one in goal may have to wait.