“I think that would be very, very wrong” - Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel throws support behind struggling Red Devils star

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has come to the defense of Andre Onana, insisting it would be "very wrong" to single out the Cameroonian amid a difficult season for the club.

Manchester United are currently going through a rough patch and are languishing in the 14th position on the Premier League table. Amid their poor run of form, Onana has often been at the receiving end of criticism, with many criticizing his error-prone outings in goal.

For Schmeichel, it is unjust to put the blame on Onana when the club as a whole have been in shambles. When the former United goalkeeper was asked about Onana’s poor form, he told talkSPORT:

"It’s been a difficult year, it’s been a difficult year for everyone, so singling out anyone, I think that would be very, very wrong. Just look where Manchester United are in the Premier League. The players are not having the greatest time.

"I try to explain this to people, why is it different playing for Manchester United as opposed to any other club? I showed this to my wife the other day. We have a broadsheet newspaper in Denmark that doesn’t have a sports section, but they still carry Manchester United’s results and not just a little line but in an article.

"If you’re any other club, or most other clubs, you don’t have that. You don’t have all the fringe, non-sporting papers reporting on your games and that is where the pressure is. Every single thing you do in a game of football will be reported everywhere in the world.

"For instance, as a goalkeeper, if you make a mistake, everybody in the world will be talking about that mistake. If you make a mistake for so many other clubs in the Premier League, they might just be in the newspaper the next day. But you’re not going to talk about it tomorrow or the day after."

"Give him the time" - Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar leaps to Andre Onana’s defense amid criticism

Apart from Peter Schmeichel, Van der Sar was another former Manchester United goalkeeper who recently leapt to the defense of Andre Onana.

Before Onana joined United, he worked with Van der Sar at Ajax where the latter was the Dutch club's chief executive.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Van der Sar defended Onana and urged his critics to give him more time.

"We had Andre for four or five years at Ajax, he did a tremendous job for us from a young boy, coming from Barcelona, we got him. He played really, really well for us and he deservedly got a great transfer to Inter Milan.

"Played in the Champions League final, moved to Manchester United, and sometimes it's not easy to get there and play in a different league, a different style of football.

"But I know his quality, I trained with him, I've seen him, mentally he's also strong, so give him the confidence, give him the time and from next year, I'm sure they'll have a top, top Premier League goalkeeper in Andre Onana."

in the ongoing campaign, Onana has conceded 61 goals and kept 10 clean sheets for United in 45 appearances across competitions.