I knew that he won't be anything special in the goalkeeping department like how DDG was, but really, even the calmness and ability to have the ball and pass to open players is looking to dissipate, corroded away from him bit by bit.
What happened to the player that was so calm and decisive, the same one that played in the UCL final?
Passing is team game, which demands a lot from outfield players, too. Also IMO transformative players are outfield players. Sure, Onana may be a huge upgrade on DDG in distribution when thing settles down in front of him, but the idea that a ball playing GK even one of the highest rated with their foot can suddenly make the whole team pass better from every area of the pitch is fantasy.
When a team pass well and dominate, they would prefer pinning the other team back, so however good the GK with foot, he is less involved. Ball playing skill is valued when opposition press high, and you take risk for high reward beating the pressing and exploit space. Not every team press high.
Raya was the player I wanted at the sort of fee being talked about, but I was assured that we needed someone better than that
There was no better option available even if we spend Onana fee last window. Some people just think Neuer, Allison level GK are abundant, that we just need to pay the cash whenever we like to pick one of them. Played right into Inter hand, where they don't need to spend that much or see much downgrade in Onana replacement.