By SABC Sport
24th July 2023
The official confirmation of Onana's transfer to Man Utd came on 20th July. The goalkeeper signed a five-year contract with an option for an additional year, and the club paid £47.61m to Inter for his services.
Despite David de Gea vacating the number one jersey after the end of his contract, many expected Onana to take on the coveted number. However, surprisingly, the Cameroonian instead opted for the number 24 at Old Trafford.
"I just like that number. It's my birthday. My date of birth. For me it's great, it's beautiful," he told MUTV.
"I like this shirt because [in] this shirt, this number we have done a lot and I hope it will continue."
During his time at Inter and Ajax, Onana had already worn the number 24 jersey, with Samir Handanovic holding the number one shirt at Inter.
In the Eredivisie, Onana initially wore the number 24 when he joined Ajax. Although he briefly wore number one during the 2017/18 season, he returned to his preferred number 24 in the following campaign.
"I'm very comfortable playing from the back, but it depends," Onana added when asked about his style of play.
"I think the most important thing is to recognise the situation and that's what I do myself, read the situation, especially what the team needs in certain moments.
"When we play, depending on who we play, sometimes you have the possession and sometimes not, so from there you have to be smart and try to help the team, because most of the time playing with these players is amazing.
"I had my first training session with them and it's just amazing the quality here, it's great."