Manchester United’s transfer deadline day swoop for Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens looked to be bad news for Andre Onana.
The Cameroon stopper has failed to meet expectations since his £47million move from Inter Milan in 2023, struggling for consistency and guilty of making a string of high-profile errors over the past two seasons.
Onana’s only appearance this season came in Manchester United’s Carabao Cup humiliation at Grimsby Town, with boss Ruben Amorim turning to Altay Bayindir in the Premier League.
Andre Onana set to cash in despite Manchester United woes
But while Onana’s long-term Old Trafford future looks to be in doubt, there is something of a silver lining for the 29-year-old.
According to transfers correspondent Fabrizio Romano, Onana is set to complete a loan move to Trabzonspor this week, before the Turkish window closes on Friday. This comes after Trabzonspor sold goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir to Galatasaray, meaning that Onana should be able to play regular football ahead of Cameroon’s AFCON tilt at the end of 2025.
What's more, the goalkeeper looks to benefit financially from the move. Romano adds that Onana’s Old Trafford salary will be covered in full by the Turkish side, while he will also bag bonuses and a signing-on fee, which The Mail claim will mean he doubles his Red Devils salary.
That report adds that Manchester United will not receive a loan fee and there is no option in the deal for Trabzonspor to sign him permanently at the end of the season.
Onana’s hopes of holding on to the No.1 shirt at Old Trafford were dented when he tore his hamstring on the second day of pre-season training, with the club also linked with a move for Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez during the transfer window.
With Onana set for the exit door, Lammens looks set to become Amorim’s first-choice, with back-up coming from Bayindir and Tom Heaton.
In FourFourTwo’s view, Onana - who has seen his value on Transfermarkt plummet from €40m to €25m since joining the Red Devils - has had long enough to prove he can handle the pressure of being Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper and categorically failed to do so.
It’s now up to Lammens to make the position his own, but for Onana to come out of this situation earning more money and set for regular first-team football is something of a result for the Cameroonian.
