Two years after the now 29-year-old joined from 2022-23 Champions League finalists Inter Milan for a reported £43.9 million, Man United are shipping Andre Onana out on loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor for the rest of the season.
When he joined, many United fans hailed Onana as a marquee signing, the perfect successor to David de Gea, and, at the time, it was sound thinking. Now, it’s not unfair to say he didn’t exactly live up to the hype.
So, where did it all go wrong for the once highly rated goalkeeper at Man United?
From Stability to… Man United
Onana thrived during his time at Ajax and then Inter, particularly in the Champions League, because they were two of the most stable sides in Europe at the time. Under Erik ten Hag, the Dutch giants were remarkably well drilled and there wasn’t much personnel change in front of him.
The same could be said of his time under Simeone Inzaghi. Playing just behind three defenders that had no problem receiving the ball under pressure, he set a club record eight clean sheets as Inter made it to the Champions League final.
When he joined Man United, Onana was under a lot more pressure to perform due to injuries in the backline and a midfield that often left the defenders with a lot more to do than their legs could handle.
High Profile Mistakes
That chaos destroyed his confidence, and if we know one thing about Onana, it’s that he is very much a confidence player. Then, a major mistake against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, letting a tame Leroy Sane effort slip beneath him, saw his head fall further.
His next game against Galatasaray was worse. Onana passed the ball directly to an opposition player, forcing Casemiro to act quickly and complete take him out to spare the ‘keepers blushes, getting a red card.
He wasn’t any better in the reverse fixture. The first mistake is frustrating but Hakim Ziyech’s freekick goes straight through the United wall, and Onana got wrong footed it’s the second freekick that is truly baffling. Onana manages to get a hand to it but it almost inexplicably bounces off his palm and into the back of the net.
As the mistakes kept coming, like the one against Copenhagen, or the one against West Ham, or even the one against Aston Villa, all in December of 2023, the fans were starting to turn.
2024-25 was just as bad. He hadn’t only lost confidence in his own ability, his teammates had lost it too. We’d love to go into more detail about all his mistakes, but this piece would be around 4000 words long.
Ruben Amorim Lost Faith
Early in the summer, it was heavily reported that Man United were looking for a new goalkeeper, but the club kept insisting they would prioritise other positions, and Ruben Amorim had seemingly accepted that.
The Portuguese manager had consistently defended Onana. When he was responsible for both of Lyon’s goals in their 2-2 Europa League quarter final draw, a day after former United midfielder Nemanja Matic called him "one of the worst goalkeepers” in United's history, he had Onana’s back.
Amorim said: "If you look at the season, I've made more mistakes than them during these last games and during these last months.
"There's nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him, so the most important thing is to be natural and then when the time comes, I will choose the best XI to play. But I'm really confident in Andre."
Fast forward to the start of the new season, and Onana is dropped from the squad completely for their first Premier League game against Arsenal despite overcoming the injury he picked up in pre-season.
The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back
From a fan perspective, it felt he was done by the time he reported for pre-season. The podcasts and influencers were on him at all times, and although some if it may have been harsh, it’s easy to see why.
He then asked for a new contract in the summer, reportedly unhappy to see his wage drop by 25% after United missed out on a place in this season’s Champions League. It’s understood to be a clause inserted in most of their player’s contracts and his request didn’t go down well.
The fact that he also arrived injured and lacking match sharpness didn’t help either. Then, it happened, Man United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two side Grimsby, largely due to Onana allowing Charles Vernam’s strike to slip through him at his near post.
One could almost see the cogs turning in his brain when he was deciding what to do with Verman’s shot. He didn’t set himself well, indecisive about whether to reach down and save with his hand or use his leg.
United have now signed Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp and he appears to be their new first-choice goalkeeper with Altay Bayindir also struggling. Let’s hope for his sake Amorim finds some form of structure to help him become the foundation United need.
What Next For Andre Onana?
There is undoubtedly a good goalkeeper in there. Perhaps if United weren’t such a mess further up the field, he would have been forgiven for his little eccentricities, and his confidence wouldn’t have taken hit after hit.
Onana is unlikely to play for Man United again barring a miraculous comeback in Turkey. Trabzonspor aren’t one of the traditional big Super Lig sides, but they have a passionate fanbase. If the mistakes return, so will the criticism.