Andre Onana at Manchester United: How Promise Turned Into a Two-Year Spiral

When Manchester United paid €51m + €4m add-ons to make Andre Onana David de Gea’s replacement in July 2023, they thought they were buying Europe’s most modern goalkeeper. Two years later, he’s on loan at Trabzonspor, left out of Cameroon’s AFCON squad, and labeled “one of the worst goalkeepers” in United’s history by Nemanja Matic. Here’s how it unraveled. The High Expectations: Why United Bought Him Onana arrived off a Champions League final with Inter Milan, known for his passing range, sweeper-keeper instincts, and comfort playing out from the back. Erik ten Hag, who coached him at Ajax, wanted a goalkeeper to start attacks, not just stop shots. The fee was big, but United believed they were getting the blueprint for a new era. His first pre-season was promising. But the Premier League quickly exposed a different reality. Year 1: 2023/24 — Mistakes Become a Pattern,Onana’s debut season was defined by high-profile errors and even on the Champions League group stage he made multiple errors vs Galatasaray and Bayern that cost United points. They exited bottom of the group. By April 2024, an alarming stat emerged: That Since July 2023, Onana had made 12 errors leading to a shot and 8 errors leading to a goal — more than any other Premier League goalkeeper. For context, David de Gea made 4 errors leading to goals in his entire final PL season. Yet there were flashes. He won the FA Cup in May 2024 and made key saves. Bruno Fernandes kept public faith: “We don’t look at individuals here… we have huge belief in Andre”. But privately, confidence eroded. Year 2: 2024/25 — The Collapse.Any hope of a reset died quickly.In a Europa League game vs Viktoria Plzen, Dec 2024 ,a misplaced pass in his box gifted Vydra a goal. Hojlund bailed him out with a 2-1 winner. Then in the Europa League QF vs Lyon, April 2025 ,Onana made two critical errors. First, a “soft” Thiago Almada free-kick went straight past him. Then in stoppage time, he spilled Georges Mikautadze’s shot for Rayan Cherki to tap in a 2-2 equalizer. That game came 24 hours after Matic called him “one of the worst goalkeepers” in United history Then the Carabao Cup vs Grimsby in Aug 2025 after he had returned from hamstring injury, he made a costly error that eliminated United. By spring 2025, manager Ruben Amorim was still publicly backing him — “It can happen… nothing I can say will help” — but the board acted. United signed Belgian keeper Senne Lammens from Antwerp for €21m on deadline day. With Lammens in and Altay Bayındır also at the club, Onana’s game time vanished. On September 4, 2025, United sent him on a season-long loan to Trabzonspor ahead of the Turkish window closing. He was welcomed by crowds of fans, but the move was an admission: United’s €51m keeper was no longer trusted. Officials summed it up: “After these mistakes, it’s not exactly hard to see why” confidence faded. They ranked 22 official errors leading to goals in two years. If club form was bad, country form made it worse. In November 2025, interim Cameroon coach David Pagou left Onana out of the AFCON Morocco 2025 squad entirely — no explanation given. This follows his suspension at Qatar 2022 for “disciplinary reasons”. Cameroon are also out of the 2026 World Cup. Ex-United keeper Massimo Taibi argued Onana “is not cut out for the English game”. He’s a strong ball-player — “better with his feet than some of the centre-backs” — but struggles with crosses, commanding his box, and traditional shot-stopping under pressure. In the PL, that’s punished weekly. Onana never settled. Each howler was magnified at United. Lyon fans jeered his every touch after his “way better” comment. Taibi said: “subconsciously the United environment isn’t ideal for him”. Tactical system Change Hurt Him, Ten Hag’s build-from-the-back suited Onana. After Ten Hag left, United’s style shifted. Amorim still asked him to play short, but with a shaky defense, every risk became a goal. Karen Carney noted: “He wants to play that, and the manager wants him to” — but the execution failed. Taibi reacted saying, “He remains a top keeper, one of the best in Europe… better fit for Italy or France”. At 30, Onana still has time. Trabzonspor gives him games away from the PL spotlight. But United’s gamble failed. They replaced De Gea to evolve, and ended up with the PL’s most error-prone keeper over two seasons. For Onana, the “sudden downshift” wasn’t sudden — it was 22 mistakes, 2 years, and a loan to Turkey in the making. Onana came as a modern solution. The Premier League, Old Trafford, and his own errors turned him into a cautionary tale.