Edwin van der Sar believes Andre Onana could be Manchester United's goalkeeper for a long time.

The shot-stopper arrived at Old Trafford from Inter Milan in July 2023 for an initial €51million (around £42m) fee, plus a further €4million (£3m) in add-ons. Onana was signed under former Reds boss Erik ten Hag as David de Gea's replacement.

But the Cameroon international has divided opinion with several glaring errors made since joining. Onana has made several good saves at times this season but many have questioned whether he is good enough to help United compete for the game's biggest trophies.

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However, legendary former United goalkeeper Van der Sar has offered his backing to the under-fire 28-year-old. He believes Onana is only likely to get better with time.

“I think that it's quite early but Andre [Onana] has a fantastic career in front of him," he said via Oddspedia. "He's gaining more experience. He has all the qualities that a goalkeeper needs so I'm sure for the next five to six years he will keep improving.

“He has the right attitude to be the goalkeeper for Man United for a very long time.”

It comes after the Manchester Evening News reported United want a new goalkeeper to compete with Onana going forwards. Whilst Van der Sar clearly thinks United are not in need of a new stopper, he suggests a new forward and midfielder are key areas to strengthen under Ruben Amorim.

“Manchester United need consistent performances," he said. "This year getting back into the Champions League is probably not going to happen - the top four is too far away with too many teams in front.

“With a good pre-season and one or two quality signings up front and maybe in midfield, United should be fine to challenge for those positions again.

“In terms of signings, nowadays they have good people on board, technical people. I'm sure they are qualified to get the right people in the door.”