Manchester United could face an unexpected problem with Mohamed Salah and Liverpool could take advantage of this

Manchester United could face an unexpected problem with Mohamed Salah and Liverpool could take advantage of this

Manchester United could eventually face the same problem that Liverpool faced with Mohamed Salah, but the Red Devils weren’t expecting it this time.

During his first full season at Anfield in 2016-17, Liverpool defender Joël Matip faced the threat of around a month on the bench.

Matip had retired from international football with Cameroon, but still intended to play for Liverpool while his country competed in the Africa Cup of Nations.

There was reportedly a possibility that FIFA would prevent the centre-back from playing for the Reds during the tournament (via The Times), but that never happened.

Now, six years later, Manchester United have signed another Cameroonian who retired early as his country’s representative: André Onana. United paid $59m to sign Onana from Inter Milan this summer and were expected to be available at the start of the AFCON year after the goalkeeper hung up his international shirt following a tactical dispute with the manager Rigobert Song at the World Cup last year.

However, he is now at the center of fresh uncertainty after being called up for his country’s upcoming qualifier against Burundi, as reported by The Athletic.

It’s not “clear” whether Onana has changed his mind or whether he will accept the call-up, but that could certainly have unforeseen consequences for Manchester United’s season.

Cameroon are still trying to secure a place at AFCON but would likely be among the favorites to qualify, having reached the semi-finals in 2022.

Liverpool are already set to lose talisman Mohamed Salah over the competition, which takes place from 13 January to 11 February in the Ivory Coast. If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love our Liverpool.com newsletter: every day of the week we send out exclusive bonus content only to people on our mailing list!

 

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Liverpool.com says: How many games could Onana miss? Well, theoretically it could be up to seven: three Premier League games (including a meeting with Tottenham Hotspur), the first two rounds of the FA Cup, a League Cup semi-final second leg and possibly the match. go for a Champions League. round of 16 or draw Europa League – Playoffs.

It all depends of course on what happens to Onana, how Manchester United develop and Cameroon progress, but it’s certainly not a problem Erik ten Hag expected as he signed a goalkeeper announcing his trip with the national team. finished. That could be good news for Liverpool, who look set to battle Manchester United for a place in the top four of the Premier League this season. In any case, with Salah, Jürgen Klopp is always well aware of his international departure. Ben Doak will be among those hoping to take things a step further this season.

The Red Devils have just sold backup goalkeeper Dean Henderson to Crystal Palace, although Altay Bayındır comes on as a substitute for Fenerbahçe