Man Utd flop ready to return and fight summer signing for his place

Andre Onana has not given up hope of winning back his spot as Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper and is ready to battle Senne Lammens for the gloves.

The 29-year-old touched down at Old Trafford with weighty expectations on his shoulders following a high-profile move from Inter Milan – worth in the region of £47million – back in 2023.

He arrived in English football with a reputation as a dependable shot-stopper, comfortable with the ball at his feet and possessing a wide passing range.

But questions over Onana’s elite-level credentials grew as the Cameroon international produced costly mistake after costly mistake over the course of a shaky debut season under Erik ten Hag at the Theatre of Dreams.

Ten Hag – who had previously worked with Onana at Ajax – continued to back his man in the summer of 2024. However, the blunders kept coming last term and the error-prone ‘keeper was told he was free to find a new club ahead of the summer transfer window.

Onana would go on to join Trabzonspor on loan and the former Ajax and Inter number one has made 18 appearances in all competitions for the Super Lig outfit this season.

And while Onana’s performances have received mixed reviews in Turkey, it appears his ambitions to prove himself as David de Gea’s long-term replacement – the initial hope when he joined United – are not yet over.

According to The Guardian, Onana ‘wants to fight to re-establish himself’ as United’s number one again when he returns to Manchester at the conclusion of the 2025/26 campaign.

The report claims Onana ‘believes he will be given a chance’ to win back the trust he lost across his two error-strewn seasons in the north west, despite the encouraging start Lammens has enjoyed in the Premier League.

Onana still has two-and-a-half years remaining on his current contract with the Red Devils.

A long list of goalkeepers were linked with United last summer before the club eventually honed in on an £18m deal for highly rated Royal Antwerp youngster Lammens on deadline day.

In that time, the Belgium international has hardly put a foot wrong in a United shirt, even as results spiraled towards the end of Ruben Amorim’s turbulent reign.

Lammens’ assured displays between the sticks have been instrumental in Michael Carrick’s remarkable success since taking over the reins as interim manager, with the club dropping just two points from their last six games.

The 23-year-old’s man-of-the-match showing against Everton on Monday night was especially impressive given the Toffees’ attempts to outmuscle United from the set-piece – with Carrick’s men forced to defend nine corners in the second half alone.

He also produced two outstanding stops to deny Harrison Armstrong and Michael Keane.

‘Their goalkeeper did a great job,’ Everton head coach David Moyes said of Lammens after the final whistle.

‘He made an amazing save from Michael Keane, looked as if he could take every corner kick. I thought there was a goal in there for us but we couldn’t quite do it.

‘The goalie was bloody brilliant for them tonight. The save he made from Michael Keane, the corner kicks.

‘The pressure we had. You can look another way and say we should have tried something else. For me their goalkeeper was the best player tonight.’

After his fine performance on Merseyside, Lammens made sure to credit the entire defensive unit for the resilience they showed to come away from Hill Dickinson Stadium with a clean sheet.

‘If you work together, if you defend well, if you don’t give goals away, then we have players up top who can make the difference,’ he told Sky Sports.

‘One flash, one counter, and then you can score. And if you keep the zero, then you can win away in this hard game. So, I’m really happy today.

‘I think since the manager has come in as well, we’ve been defending really well together, actually all season almost.

‘So, we knew if me personally and the defence give us a chance, keep the zero, now we always have a chance to win, and that was the case today.

‘Like I said, it wasn’t the prettiest one, but if you work that hard for it, sometimes it’s the best one.’

On his promising debut season with United, the Belgian added: ‘I just try to stay calm, play my own game. I know I have the qualities, I wouldn’t be here otherwise.

‘So, I just believe in myself, the players around me and my teammates support me really much.

‘Now I just keep on building, keep getting that confidence. Like today, getting those wins, feeling important, is really important.’

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