Manchester United's top choice remains Ramens, with an improved offer now at £23 million! Data suggests he could replace Onana.

Aston Villa's experienced Emiliano Martinez resurfaced as a Manchester United target late in the summer window, yet reports confirm the club's first preference remains the younger Sena Ramens.

The Manchester Evening News reported that after Royal Antwerp declined United’s initial £14.5 million plus bonuses bid, the club has increased the offer to £20 million (€23 million), aiming for acceptance. If the 23-year-old Ramens deal does not progress, the 32-year-old Martinez will be considered.

Since the post-Ferguson era, Manchester United has been marked by instability, particularly evident in the goalkeeper position over the past two years. The Red Devils once had one of the world’s best shot-stoppers in De Gea, famously nicknamed “Duck Dad,” which says it all.

However, as the Spanish keeper made more mistakes, the once-devoted United decided to move on, investing €50 million to bring in Andre Onana, hoping for a tactical revolution. Unfortunately, the outcome was that the team suffered multiple defeats as a result.

Onana's two years at United have been inconsistently steady; he missed the first two matches of the 2025/26 season. Although his replacement, Alphonse Baindil, is not a true substitute and also prone to errors. Now, United is about to sign a new goalkeeper, 23-year-old Belgian Ramens, who was relatively unknown before links to United emerged.

Ramens is still a young goalkeeper with limited top-league experience. He debuted at Club Brugge in 2020 but was blocked by first-choice keeper Mignolet, leading to his 2023 move to Antwerp.

There, he proved himself with 40 appearances and 10 clean sheets, earning a call-up to the Belgian national team, although he has yet to make an appearance. Some view United’s signing of him as a “lottery ticket,” while others believe Ramens could at least challenge Onana.

From the traditional goalkeeper perspective of shot-stopping, Onana’s performance at United has been subpar. However, his number of clean sheets is decent, with 9 each season. In the 2023/24 Premier League season, his actual goals conceded were 2.7 fewer than expected, ranking him 5th among league goalkeepers.

Overall, Onana occasionally makes spectacular saves, like those early last season against Crystal Palace and Fenerbahce. Yet he frequently errs on seemingly easy balls, such as fumbling shots or dropping catches, with confidence fluctuations leading to mistakes.

Last season, Onana’s actual goals conceded in the Premier League was only one less than expected, placing him 18th among goalkeepers, and his save percentage dropped from 74.9% to 68.9%. From a traditional keeper standpoint, he is average, with weak fundamentals and too many errors.

Meanwhile, Ramens excelled for Royal Antwerp, who finished 5th in the Belgian league in 2024/25, boasting an 81.4% save rate and conceding 14.5 fewer goals than expected. No Belgian keeper made more saves than him, and he is known for his composure, especially in saving penalties, being hailed as the heir to national legend Courtois.

As a goalkeeper, Ramens has shown promise early in his career. In the physically demanding Premier League, his notable advantage might be his height—193cm tall, which is 7cm taller than Onana—giving him a physical edge against English aerial attacks.

Though height doesn’t always guarantee aerial dominance—198cm Baindil is often outmatched in corner defense—data shows Ramens is confident when dealing with crosses into the box.

Over the past year, Ramens intercepted 13.2% of crosses entering the penalty area, compared to just over 5% for Onana. Since the 2018/19 season, the 29-year-old Cameroonian keeper has never exceeded a 9.3% cross interception rate in a single season.

Ramens will undoubtedly face tougher challenges in the Premier League, but raw data indicates he is far superior to Onana in this regard. Onana has been characterized as a typical modern keeper, excelling not in goal-line activity but rather as a distributor when his team has possession.

However, the best form Onana showed at Inter Milan has rarely appeared at United. His footwork and confidence surpass De Gea’s, but there has been little improvement in United’s attack. Like with De Gea, United often resorts to long clearances from the back, handing possession to opponents.

Because the key to possession lies not with the goalkeeper but with the outfield players ahead, if teammates cannot control passes, even the most accurate long balls are ineffective. During his time at United, Onana recorded the two worst passing completion rates of his career.

Last season, Ramens’ passing accuracy was 3.6% higher than Onana’s, though he attempted 2.4 fewer passes per 90 minutes. Belgian football expert Bart Tamsin notes Ramens is comfortable with both feet but is definitely not a deep-lying playmaker; Onana is more adept with ball control.

But what United needs right now is not a fancy, possession-based goalkeeper, but a reliable traditional keeper who can provide solid confidence to the defense inside the penalty area.