Andre Onana’s transfer: What’s next for United’s goalkeeping?
Andre Onana leaves Man United on loan to Trabsonspor. Photo Credit- Total sports
Manchester United’s decision to loan Andre Onana to Trabzonspor marked a stark admission of failure for a goalkeeper once heralded as the cornerstone of a new era. Signed for £47 million from Inter Milan in July 2023, Onana was expected to redefine United’s goalkeeping with his ball-playing prowess, but his tenure unraveled through high-profile errors and systemic mismatches, culminating in a season-long loan with Trabzonspor covering his £120,000 weekly wage and adding bonuses, per Fabrizio Romano. This move, just weeks into the 2025/26 season, clears the path for 23-year-old Senne Lammens to claim the No. 1 spot, with Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton as backups. Onana’s exit is not just a personal setback but a symptom of United’s broader recruitment and tactical woes, raising critical questions about the future of goalkeeping under Amorim’s transformative vision.
Onana’s Man United tenure
Andre Onana’s two-year stint at Manchester United began with lofty expectations, given his treble-winning pedigree at Ajax and a Champions League final with Inter, but it ended in disappointment defined by costly mistakes and fan frustration. Arriving as Erik ten Hag’s hand-picked sweeper-keeper, Onana’s 85% pass accuracy from Ajax promised to elevate United’s build-from-the-back approach, yet his 2023/24 season saw five errors leading to goals, including blunders in Champions League loss to Bayern Munich and a Galatasaray defeat. The 2024/25 campaign showed marginal improvement, a 78% save percentage and an FA Cup triumph, but his 74% Premier League save rate lagged behind elite keepers, and a hamstring injury during 2025/26 pre-season exposed the department’s fragility, with Bayindir’s shaky Arsenal performance amplifying doubts. Onana’s 82% pass completion often led to turnovers under pressure, only made worse by a midfield that ranked 15th for pass completion under pressure, per The Athletic, and social media posts labeling him “Sabinus of the EPL” reflecting a fanbase that lost faith in a keeper whose talent was undermined by a chaotic system.
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Implications of Onana exit on Man United
Onana’s loan to Trabzonspor is less about his individual failings and more a reflection of Manchester United’s chronic instability, where big-money signings like his £47 million transfer fail to gel amid managerial churn and strategic missteps. Under ten Hag, United conceded 58 Premier League goals in 2023/24 and 14 from set pieces in 2024/25, with Onana exposed by a backline prone to turnovers and a lack of leadership post-Varane and Maguire, per The Athletic. The club’s £600 million transfer splurge under ten Hag, including flops like Antony, underscores a recruitment strategy that prioritized names over fit, leaving Onana as a scapegoat for systemic issues. His move to Trabzonspor, who see value in his distribution, contrasts with United’s 14th-place finish in 2024/25 and highlights a financial hit under Profit and Sustainability Rules, as noted by The Guardian. Fans on social media view this as “clearing deadwood,” but it’s a costly reset, signaling United’s struggle to align high-profile signings with a cohesive tactical vision.
What United’s goalkeeping future will be under Amorim
Ruben Amorim’s arrival brings a new goalkeeping paradigm at Manchester United, rooted in his Sporting CP success with a high-pressing 3-4-3 that demands keepers act as playmakers and sweepers. At Sporting, Francisco Trincao’s 88% pass accuracy and long-ball assists enabled a 58% possession average and 65% high-turnover wins, a model Amorim will replicate with Senne Lammens, the £17.3 million Royal Antwerp signing with an 84% save percentage and 82% pass completion, per SofaScore. Lammens’ 6ft 4in frame and 70% cross-claiming rate fit Amorim’s need for aerial dominance behind a back three, unlike Bayindir’s set-piece struggles or Heaton’s limited distribution. However, Amorim’s system requires midfielders like Casemiro to shield the keeper, a weakness exposed by United’s 1.8 goals conceded per game last season. Lammens’ penalty-saving and sweeping skills, could reduce United’s 25% turnover rate from keeper passes, but without squad-wide cohesion, he risks becoming another Onana, talented but unsupported.
However, it isn’t enough to only criticize Onana or address the chaotic system that United has been suffering from in the past decades but to proffer some potential solutions. To break the cycle of goalkeeping failures, Manchester United must prioritize integration and patience over flashy signings like Onana’s. First, invest in specialized coaching: pair Lammens with a mentor like Sporting’s Wallis Furtado to hone his sweeping and distribution in Amorim’s 3-4-3, ensuring he adapts to high-line demands.
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Second, align tactics with personnel, Amorim should enforce midfield cover to cut the 40% of Onana’s errors from rushed passes, possibly using Kobbie Mainoo’s mobility. Third, focus on youth development: retain Heaton as a mentor while scouting prospects like Diogo Costa, avoiding overpaying for unproven ball-players. Finally, grant Lammens time to gel, perhaps starting in cup games, as Sporting’s data shows keepers thrive with 85%+ pass accuracy in stable systems. United’s history of spending £100 million on keepers since de Gea demands a shift toward systemic support, not scapegoating, to make Lammens a success.
Final take
Andre Onana’s loan exit to Trabzonspor closes a turbulent chapter for Manchester United, where a £47 million investment yielded errors and excuses rather than excellence, exposing a club struggling with recruitment and tactical incoherence. His ball-playing vision was ahead of its time but undone by a squad ill-equipped to support it, making his departure a careful reset for Ruben Amorim’s era. With Senne Lammens set to anchor a 3-4-3 system demanding distribution, command, and sweeping, United have a chance to redefine their goalkeeping identity. Yet, success hinges on squad-wide evolution, midfield protection, defensive stability, and patience. Onana’s exit is a big lesson: without a cohesive vision, even the most talented keepers will fail. As Amorim rebuilds, United stand at a crossroads, embrace the reset, or risk another costly misstep.
