'He's stepping up' — Man United legend hails Andre Onana's improvement

Andre Onana is showing his worth to the Manchester United cause, according to Old Trafford goalkeeping icon Peter Schmeichel.

Onana has endured some tricky moments since joining United from Inter Milan before the start of last season and it remains the case that few players find themselves immune from criticism as Erik ten Hag's side languish 14th in the Premier League.

However, the 28-year-old provided a silver lining to a bleak period for the Red Devils when he was given the September prize for Premier League Save of the Month.

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Cameroon goalkeeper Onana took the gong thanks to his magnificent double stop in United's 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace, where he got down to his left to keep out an Eddie Nketiah drive that he saw late before springing up to sensationally keep out Ismaila Sarr's first-time attempt on the rebound.

The second save showed the sort of lightning reactions and dominant presence that typified Schmeichel in his pomp and the Denmark great praised Onana in remarks given to the Premier League's official website.

"You don't expect it to go through him [the legs of Matthijs de Ligt] so not only does he have to react, he also has to get down and get a very strong hand to it. But the recovery is just amazing. A very, very good save. He's stepping up and winning points for his team."

The save helped Onana to one of four clean sheets so far this term, which means he leads the way in the early stages of the Golden Glove race. Indeed, it's worth pondering how United's current situation could be even worse but for the increasingly reliable performances from Ten Hag's No. 1.