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Man Utd have managed to get rid of Andre Onana which means that mistakes like these should be a thing of the past.
Andre Onana’s time at Old Trafford looks to have come to an end with a two-year spell at Manchester United that has been littered with mistakes.
A loan move to Trabzonspor means that Onana will be back next summer, however, the endless list of errors and mistakes mean that any return will only be temporary. The signing of Senne Lammens was confirmed on deadline day and it would be a surprise to see the former Royal Antwerp stopper anywhere other than between the sticks for the foreseeable future. With Onana gone, this is a look back at five crucial errors that cost his club and his place in the team.
Five costly Andre Onana mistakes at Man Utd
Grimsby (August 2025)
The nail in the coffin. Brought back into the team after injury and with doubts about his future, Onana did little to help his cause with two goals against Grimsby that he could have done better with. The Cameroon stopper’s inability to deal with corners and set pieces was a constant problem and this one was the last straw for Amorim despite defending his no.1 after the game.
Nottingham Forest (August 2023)
Onana had more than a few questionable goals conceded due to his positioning but against Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi, nobody really knew what he was trying to do. The Forest striker didn’t have to do much to score after running half the length of the pitch with the United keeper deciding to sit on his backside rather than making himself big.
Viktoria Plzen (December 2024)
Matej Vydra won’t have scored many easier goals than the one he scored in last season’s Europa League after sloppy play from Onana left the former Watford striker with a tap-in from six-yards out. With three other options available to him, Onana gifted a goal due to slack passing and a lack of concentration.
Tottenham (May 2025)
In terms of mistakes, it might not be the worst in that Onana didn’t fumble the ball or give it straight to an opposition player, but what he did do was not make the sort of save that a United keeper should be making and it cost his team a place in the Champions League and the best part of £100m. Not only did the cross land only a few yards in front of him, but he should have done much better with the weak effort from Brennan Johnson.
Aston Villa (December 2023)
Like the goal against Spurs, this one isn’t the worst mistake Onana has ever made but it is symptomatic of why he was never good enough for United and why it was so evident early in his Old Trafford career. A free-kick from John McGinn travelled 40 yards without a touch when a more proactive keeper either deals with the initial contact in the air or when it lands just next to him on the ground.
Why Onana was never going to succeed at Man Utd
Speaking to BBC Sport after Onana’s departure, former United defender Phil Jones explained why it is one of the most difficult positions in football.
"The Manchester United shirt is a heavy one to wear," he said. "What is absolutely paramount is that the goalkeeper is calm and can deal with certain situations. He needs to be commanding and not be flapping at crosses.
"If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, it becomes infectious very quickly and spreads through the defensive unit. If a goalkeeper made a mistake, it was almost like you couldn't get it out of your system until the next game. When I say rhino skin, he had it," said Jones about David de Gea.
"It is ruthless in a way but he almost had this ability not to care. He was quite blase about the errors he made, even in training sometimes. But when you needed him he was there."
The decision to release De Gea to sign Andre Onana looked worse with every mistake the latter made.
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