“I don't think the players do enough of that, I think it's healthy.”
That was the opinion of ex-Manchester United defender David May, when asked about Andre Onana's evident willingness to shout instructions to his new team-mates.
The Reds' newest recruit has had time to gel with the squad while on Tour 2023 in the US, and he could make his maiden appearance at Old Trafford this Saturday, when RC Lens are the penultimate pre-season opponents for Erik ten Hag's men. Tickets are available online, priced from £20 for adults (from £15 for members).
Speaking on this week's episode of The Debate, May stated his belief that having a verbally confident character between the posts can only be a positive for United.
“What it does to you is it keeps you on your toes,”began May, when assessing Andre's tendency to talk on the pitch.
“Me and Casp [fellow guest Chris Casper] were both centre-halves and what you want from your goalkeeper is somebody barking out orders, someone that directs you in the right direction, and is constantly talking to you. I think Onana does that.
“You saw after five or six minutes, he was out on the edge of his box, rollocking the two centre-halves. That can only be good. I don't think the players do enough of that, I think it's healthy, keeping everyone on their toes.
“I think Onana will be the epitome of that, from a defensive point of view. As a defender, that's what you want, somebody barking orders behind you.”
Onana's interaction with Harry Maguire during Sunday night's 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund became a talking point on social media, and the summer signing from Internazionale later admitted he demands a lot of his team-mates, in the best interests of the club.
Sitting alongside May on The Debate panel, Chris Casper made the point that players are not held accountable for their mistakes as much as they used to be.
“It's probably a society thing, and a cultural change that's happened in football in particular, over the last 10 to 15 years,”
said the former United centre-back, now the director of football development at Salford City.
“Myself and Maysie played with players who, if you gave the ball away, would bark at you. You got told off in no uncertain terms. If I was playing with Maysie, he would tell me.
“I don't think there is enough of that these days. Society has changed, the culture has changed, the way kids speak to each other.
“I think going back to a Peter Schmeichel-type goalkeeper is exactly what United need.”
“There is real quality in his distribution as well,”said the Premier League Productions reporter.
“There's risk-tasking, but it's not for the sake of it, it's calculated. It's for a reason.
“Ten Hag has worked with Onana before and if he thought he is the right person to elevate Manchester United at this point, I'm going to trust him.
“So far, the business Ten Hag has done has improved United. Even from the bits of training I've seen or the games in pre-season, this [signing of Onana] is going to change completely the way United build up from the back. The position of the full-backs has been completely different already as they've been a lot higher up the pitch.
“Even the centre-halves' positions have changed because Onana is so willing to come forward with the ball and his passing is really accurate.
“Yes, there is risk, because we are not used to seeing a goalkeeper do these sorts of things and do what he does with the ball.
“But there is real quality and his pass-completion rate is really high as well. That tells you the accuracy is there, even if he is taking risks.
“Normally the higher the risk, the lower the completion rate, but it [the accuracy] is there.”