When Manchester United splashed out to bring Andre Onana to Old Trafford, hopes ran high that the Cameroonian shot-stopper would redefine the club’s approach to playing out from the back. Fresh off a stellar Champions League campaign with Inter Milan, Onana was hailed for his composure with the ball at his feet and his ability to thread passes through the tightest of spaces. United’s then-manager Erik ten Hag, who had previously worked with Onana at Ajax, saw him as the natural successor to David de Gea, ushering in a new era of progressive, possession-based football.
Yet, as the dust settles in September 2025, the story has taken a dramatic turn. Onana’s time at United has been marked by a litany of high-profile errors, tactical missteps, and a loss of trust both on the pitch and in the dressing room. The once-lauded goalkeeper now finds himself on the verge of a season-long loan to Turkey’s Trabzonspor, a move that many see as the end of his tenure at the top level of European football.
So, how did it unravel so spectacularly for a player once considered the best goalkeeper in the Champions League?
Onana’s troubles began almost immediately upon his arrival in Manchester. Sources close to the player revealed that he was recruited specifically for his ability to play short, incisive passes from the back. However, those plans went awry during his very first outing at Old Trafford—a pre-season friendly against Lens. In that match, Onana ventured well outside his penalty area, attempting a risky pass to Diogo Dalot. Dalot lost possession, and Onana was left stranded as he was chipped from 50 yards out. The incident set the tone for what would become a season riddled with costly mistakes and shattered confidence.
Erik ten Hag’s bold decision to replace club legend David de Gea with Onana was meant to signal a tactical evolution. Instead, tactical shifts forced Onana to abandon his strengths. Rather than playing short from the back, he found himself launching long balls under pressure, neutralizing the very qualities that brought him to United. The regularity of his mistakes quickly undermined supporters’ faith, and the murmurs of discontent grew louder with each passing week.
Despite the mounting pressure, both Ten Hag and his successor, Ruben Amorim, initially persisted with Onana as their first-choice goalkeeper. The support, however, was visibly waning by April 2025. Ahead of a crucial Europa League tie against Lyon, Onana expressed confidence, telling reporters he felt United were “way better” than their French opponents. The comment, innocuous on the surface, drew a sharp retort from former United midfielder Nemanja Matic, who called Onana “one of the worst goalkeepers in the club’s history” during a pre-match press conference. The psychological blow seemed to take its toll. Onana made two glaring errors as the first leg ended 2-2, and the writing was on the wall.
Amorim responded by handing Altay Bayindir his Premier League debut in the very next match at Newcastle. While Onana did reclaim his spot for the Europa League semi-final and final, the trust from the coaching staff was clearly eroding. Notably, Ten Hag had previously delayed Onana’s call-up to the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, such was his importance to the squad, but by the end of the season, that faith had all but evaporated. Bayindir started the final league game of the 2024-25 campaign and the first three matches of the new season, while Onana was left to watch from the bench.
Onana’s only appearance in the 2025-26 season came in the Carabao Cup, a humiliating defeat to League Two side Grimsby Town. Once again, he was culpable, gifting Grimsby their second goal and further compounding his woes. Amorim’s patience had finally run out. The summer transfer window saw United sign 23-year-old Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day, a clear signal that the club was moving in a new direction. Lammens, despite his lack of Premier League experience, is expected to become United’s new No.1. Bayindir, too, has struggled to convince, but Onana’s fate was sealed.
Off the pitch, Onana’s confidence never seemed to waver, at least publicly. In December 2023, after a string of high-profile blunders, he told Sky Sports: “You want to tell me in six months the best goalkeeper in the Champions League last season can become the worst in the world? Nah. Everything is temporary. I know it’ll be alright. If not today, it will be tomorrow, if not tomorrow, the day after tomorrow.” Yet, as the months wore on and mistakes piled up, even Onana’s optimism began to ring hollow.
The 2024-25 season proved disastrous for Manchester United as a whole. The club slumped to a 15th-place finish in the Premier League, their worst showing in decades. Onana, fairly or unfairly, became the symbol of United’s decline. Opposing teams targeted him relentlessly, and his errors repeatedly undermined the efforts of his teammates. According to sources, Onana “became an easy target for opposing teams and constantly undermined the efforts of his team-mates with his staggering ineptitude between the sticks.”
The consequences have been severe. Onana is now set to join Trabzonspor on loan, a move that will nearly double his salary but effectively signals the end of his time at Europe’s highest level. “The loan move to Trabzonspor effectively ends Onana’s career at the top level of football,” one source bluntly put it. For a player once considered United’s great hope, it’s a stunning fall from grace. Some pundits have gone so far as to label him the worst signing the club has made in the last 20 years—a damning indictment, especially given the club’s tumultuous transfer history since the Glazer family’s takeover in 2005.
As United look to rebuild under Amorim, the focus now shifts to the future. The arrival of Lammens is seen as a gamble, but with Bayindir also struggling for consistency, the club had little choice. Supporters are desperate for stability between the posts, and the coaching staff is under pressure to restore confidence in a defense that has been all too porous in recent seasons.
For Onana, the move to Turkey offers a fresh start and a chance to rebuild his reputation away from the unforgiving glare of the Premier League. Whether he can recapture the form that once made him one of Europe’s most sought-after goalkeepers remains to be seen. But for Manchester United, the Onana experiment has come to a sobering end, serving as a cautionary tale about the risks of high-profile signings and the relentless scrutiny that comes with playing at one of the world’s biggest clubs.
With the new season underway and a new man between the sticks, United fans will be watching closely to see if the club’s fortunes can be reversed. As for Onana, his Old Trafford chapter is all but closed—a story of promise unfulfilled and lessons learned the hard way.
