ESPN: Onana told to leave Man Utd after international break

The dramatic step Andre Onana is prepared to take to ensure his Manchester United career is a success has been revealed by a report.

The 27-year-old cost £47.2m (including add-ons) when plucked from Inter Milan over the summer. Onana was earmarked as an upgrade on David de Gea, not least because of his superior passing range and distribution with the ball at feet.

However, while Onana has added a new dimension to Man Utd when attempting to play out from the back, a series of high profile handling errors have brought his ability with the gloves into question.

ESPN: Onana told to leave Man Utd after international break

 

Onana has struggled with the basics in his short stint thus far at Old Trafford. However, there is no indication Erik ten Hag is concerned for the player he previously managed at Ajax.

Onana is expected to retain the starting role ahead of fellow new recruit Altay Bayindir moving forwards. However, calls for change will only continue to grow if the errors aren’t eradicated from Onana’s game.

Now, according to ESPN, Onana is prepared to take the drastic action of refusing to play for his country if it helps iron out a rocky start to his United career.

Onana represents Cameroon at international level having returned to playing for his country in September.

A disagreement over tactics saw Onana fall out with Cameroon boss Rigobert Song during the Qatar World Cup. Onana announced his international retirement in December 2022, though returned to playing for Cameroon in an AFCON qualifier against Burundi last month.

Cameroon qualified for the next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations which is due to take place midway through the current season. The tournament in the Ivory Coast kicks off on January 13 and concludes on February 11.

As such, United could be without their first choice keeper for around a month, but ESPN state the keeper has other ideas.

Onana to put club before country?

It’s claimed Onana is ‘so committed to making sure he’s a success at United that he’s reluctant to leave’ in the event he’s called up for the competition by Cameroon.

Onana is understood to have told Ten Hag he had ‘no plans’ to play international football again during the negotiations that brought him to United from Inter.

Onana since reneged on that claim, though ESPN stress that was due to ‘pressure from the Cameroon FA and government’.

It’s acknowledged Onana would be put in a difficult position if selected by Cameroon again. However, if the report is accurate, Onana is strongly considering putting Man Utd before his country.