The arrival of Senne Lammens on transfer deadline day left Man United with four senior goalkeepers for just over a week.
United head out for the infamous tie at Grimsby
United head out for the infamous tie at Grimsby
Manchester United players are relieved to have avoided the “nonsense” of a four-man goalkeeping department following the departure of Andre Onana on a season-long loan.
Onana, 29, completed his temporary switch to Turkish club Trabzonspor on Thursday - a day before the Turkish transfer window closed - and Trabzonspor will cover Onana’s wages in full.
The MEN can reveal United players felt it would have been a “problem” if Onana had not secured a move following the deadline day signing of ‘keeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.
As of the final days of August, Onana was adamant he would stay at United. However, his error-strewn performance in the humiliating League Cup second round elimination by fourth tier Grimsby Town preceded his demotion for the Premier League win against Burnley three days later. Sources say Onana effectively felt forced out following the arrival of the 23-year-old Lammens.
United had not considered a new goalie to be a priority in the window but head coach Ruben Amorim’s view of Onana evolved to the extent that he picked Altay Bayindir over the Cameroonian in the opening league fixtures against Arsenal and Fulham.
Bayindir committed errors that led to goals against Arsenal and Burnley and Amorim bristled at a query as to whether he considered playing the 39-year-old Tom Heaton in goal. Confidence has dwindled in Bayindir and Onana within the United dressing room.
Onana sustained a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the entirety of United's pre-season schedule, which also had a bearing on his omission from the line-up against Arsenal and Fulham.
The only realistic market for United to offload Onana to was in Turkey or Saudi Arabia, whose transfer windows remained open until this week. Jose Mourinho had no interest in Onana or Ederson before he was sacked by Fenerbahce two weeks ago. Fenerbahce bought Ederson from Manchester City days after Mourinho’s dismissal while Galatasaray were also linked with the Brazilian.
United bought Onana from Inter Milan for £47.2million in July 2023 but his stint as number one ended after only two seasons where he conceded numerous saveable goals.
Of the 13 players United signed in former manager Erik ten Hag’s first two summers in charge, only Bayindir, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Mason Mount are in the current squad.
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