Ex-Man United goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain has say on Onana arrival and talks Ramsdale/Raya

In the third part of an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes, former England international Siobhan Chamberlain talked about Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana and Ben Foster, who retired from the sport after Wrexham’s 5-5 draw with Swindon at the weekend.

Click on the links for part one in which Chamberlain discussed the Lionesses’ World Cup performances and part two for her thoughts on the forthcoming WSL season.

Onana knows why he’s been signed…that’s the risk United have taken

It’s really hard after just two games to single out teams in a good or bad way. Aston Villa, for example, got battered in their opening game against Newcastle, but have just gone and battered Everton. Fulham won their first game, then got annihilated by Brentford last weekend. There have been so many highs and lows already, within those first two weeks. It takes a while to get a real and true gauge as to where teams are at.

In terms of goalkeepers, Andre Onana coming in for Manchester United…there was one pass he made against Tottenham which, I thought, deserved a goal at the end of it because it was outstanding. He’s been brought in because he’s very much on the front foot, he’s very different to David de Gea. What we saw against Wolves, yes, he should have had a penalty awarded against him – everyone who watched that clip would agree with that… but that’s kind of what’s being asked of him. You’ve got to be on the front foot, you’ve got to come off your line. That’s why United have brought him in, and that’s the sort of risk which comes with that type of goalkeeper.

In his head, he’ll know exactly why he’s been brought in, and what’s expected of him. It’s because of how he plays the game, how he comes and claims balls. So does that incident against Wolves now impact his decision-making moving forward? It’s really difficult. Those pressures and the expectation on him and goalkeepers in general – really have an impact on decision-making for goalkeepers.

When you’re coming into a side as a goalkeeper, you’re not just coming on for the last 10 or 15 minutes like a striker might do; you’re either playing or you’re not. You’re in some sort of dilemma, though, when you come into a team as the new number one. Ideally you don’t want to be busy at all, because it generally means your team have had a good game. But then, if you’re quiet, you start thinking about how you’re going to prove that you’re worthy of that position when you haven’t had anything to do. So, then you start trying to do things you wouldn’t normally do; playing big passes because you want to prove you can distribute, when, more often than not, the easiest pass is the short one. But that’s boring, and you’re not proving how good you are in doing that.

There are so many mental challenges that come with being a goalkeeper, I can’t imagine what it’s like at Arsenal at the moment, when you throw into the equation the fact you’ve got two guys there who are expecting to be their number one!

Retiring Foster has had fantastic career

Ben Foster is a brilliant person who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few times now. I think anyone who has watched him in interviews, or in his vlogs, or has listened to his podcast, will attest to that. He’s an incredibly popular person, and for him to go and do what he did for Wrexham last season, and play such a key role in those final few games in getting them out of the National League and into the EFL, that’s brilliant for him to take away with him.

He’s had a fantastic career, and I’m sure he’ll continue to be in the media spotlight, and we can all enjoy him chatting on his podcast soon… who knows, we might see him in the Tour de France!