Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire has branded Andre Onana "an excellent goalkeeper", as the Cameroonian prepares to return to the starting XI against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Onana made two mistakes in last week's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Lyon, which led to him being dropped against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Onana will return between the sticks against Lyon on Thursday, and he will be under major pressure to produce a strong performance in the European contest.
Maguire is no stranger to tough moments, having endured a lot of criticism during his time at Man United, and the 32-year-old has backed his teammate to produce the perfect response against the French giants.
"First and foremost, Andre has proved in his past that he's an excellent goalkeeper. He's proved it at Inter [Milan]. He's won numerous trophies, played in Champions League finals," Maguire told reporters.
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Maguire throws full support behind the under-pressure Onana
"During your career, you always have spells where you have ups and downs and you find yourself out of form. It's about how you build yourself back in and find that confidence to perform again.
"I think at the moment he's probably feeling that everything's going against him. But you take it game by game and I'm sure again he's going to be there tomorrow night, and he's a big personality, a big character, and he'll be looking forward to the game. He'll want to show everyone again what he's about.
"Playing in front of Andre is great. I have confidence in Andre. Like I say, he's had a fantastic career, he's got great experience and we all know he's an excellent goalkeeper."
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Maguire urges Onana to 'ignore the outside noise'
Maguire has called on Onana to 'ignore the outside noise' and focus on his own job during Thursday's European encounter.
"Try your best to ignore it all. Focus on your job. Come in on a daily basis and do your best. I always said to myself, that's all that you can do. Tomorrow night is another game of football," the centre-back added.
"You go on that pitch and you give absolutely everything. And when you walk off, you say to yourself, 'I've left everything out there' and no matter how you perform, that's only what you can do. It's the same for any player who wears this badge.
"It comes with a responsibility to perform and when you don't perform and when the league results aren't good enough, there's people who obviously do come under the spotlight. I've been in that situation myself. But like I say, all you can do is day in, day out, do your best, work as hard as possible, and take each games as it comes."
Onana is set to remain as Man United's first-choice goalkeeper for the remainder of the season, but he could be moved on by the 20-time English champions during this summer's transfer window.
Matt Law
