Nightmare for Man U, disaster for Cameroon… What happened to Onana?

Andre Onana was included in Cameroon’s final 27-man AFCON squad, but he formally requested a postponement of his call-up so he could play for Manchester United in their FA Cup third-round match against Wigan Athletic on January 8 and their Premier League match against Tottenham six days later, according to ESPN.

While Cameroon allowed Onana to remain with his club for a few more days, he left right away following the Spurs game to make the 5,000-mile trip to the Ivory Coast in less than twenty-four hours in order to arrive in time for Cameroon’s first match against Guinea. Fog forced his private jet to be diverted 150 miles south to Abidjan, where it finally touched down at 6 a.m. on Monday. It took 16 hours for the plane to arrive. Onana had to make another lengthy drive to Yamoussoukro by 2pm just 3 hours before Cameroon’s first game.

Onana believed he was still the first choice to start despite not having participated in his nation’s pre-tournament training, so it was a major surprise when Rigobert Song chose Fabrice Ondoa to start against Guinea instead.

When Onana was later seen discussing the situation with El Hadji Diouf, he appeared to be very upset. The Telegraph claims that Onana even asked the former Senegal and Liverpool winger, “If I wasn’t going to play or make the team, then why did I come here on a private jet?”

The goalie made it plain after the game how he felt about his manager and the Cameroon Football Federation as the Indomitable Lions were held to a depressing 1-1 draw at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium by Guinea. “I have a lot to say but I will not say it here because we are in competition,” he told Canal Plus. He told Canal Plus, . “Let me continue to be criticised, I am used to it. I do what is good for my country.”

Finally, on Friday against Senegal, Andre Onana received his first AFCON start. The Lions of Teranga defeated Cameroon 3-1; Sadio Mane, Habib Diallo, and Ismaila Sarr all scored for Senegal.

Normally as we have seen from him recently, he gave a bad performance and was unable to justify his selection. It is  clear that he is prone to catastrophic errors and spells of complete chaos, regardless of whether he is playing for Cameroon or United.

The calls for giving Bayindir a chance at Manchester United will only intensify, to the point where Ten Hag might no longer be able to support his man.

A portion of the blame for the way all three goals were conceded fell on Onana. At least one of them was clearly his fault. He weakly punched an aerial ball straight into the path of an approaching Senegal player as he emerged from his goal.

After taking a touch, the opposing star calmly passed the ball to Sarr, who slotted it into the net behind Onana, who was merely observing.

Senegal’s next two strikes gave the United star a very unfortunate look. If Onana hadn’t reacted so slowly to the shot, Mane’s goal in particular might not have gone in.

See also: AFCON: How Super Eagles can qualify from group after draw against Equatorial Guinea

The level Onana performed was very similar to what United supporters have seen from him since he moved to Old Trafford in the summer.

As a direct replacement for longtime employee David de Gea, the Red Devils paid a hefty £47.2 million to sign Onana from Inter Milan in a move that was meant to signal the team’s improvement.

Erik ten Hag in a move meant to denote the Red Devils ascending to a higher level. However, United have only moved down and a major contributing factor has been Onana’s difficult start at Old Trafford.

But despite a sharp drop in the team’s performance, Onana is still finding it difficult to adjust to life in Manchester, so the reunion hasn’t paid off.

After 21 games this season, United has dropped to seventh place in the Premier League and has already been eliminated from both the Champions League and the Carabao Cup. Onana has been responsible for a number of humiliating errors made by the team during this time.

When Onana arrived, there was a lot of excitement among those who had grown weary and frustrated with De Gea’s shortcomings, which many believed were holding the team back and preventing Erik ten Hag from executing his preferred style of play.

Following an outstanding season with Inter, which included a Champions League final against Manchester City, many predicted that the 27-year-old would change United’s dynamic and assist the team in playing more attacking football. There were encouraging preseason signs, which only strengthened this optimism.

However, as the season progressed, the contrary turned out to be true. During his time at United, Onana has made a number of well-publicized errors that have cost the team dearly.

Before United’s elimination from the Champions League, the shot-stopper’s howlers had become the norm. It’s difficult to dispute the assertion made by many that he was the sole reason the 20-time English champions were eliminated from Europe, even though football is ultimately a team sport.

Due to Onana’s errors, the Premier League has seen a rise in opposition teams who appear to have noticed his difficulties in goal as a potential weakness.

This season, he has made 30 appearances and played for United for 2700 minutes in all competitions. Over that span, Onana has allowed 47 goals to enter the goal and has only kept eight clean sheets. It is astounding how many goals he has given up in just the Premier League.

Even though it’s not entirely his fault, it doesn’t help that he doesn’t seem confident or like he’s up to the challenge. Beyond his errors, the United player’s peculiar diving style has drawn criticism.

Onana always seems to dive too slowly and too long after the shot has been completed and is already out of his reach, just like with Mane’s goal last Friday.

Ten Hag has already been urged to drop Onana in favour of his deputy, Altay Bayindir. The United boss has resisted such suggestions so far.

See also: AFCON: Kudus, Salah, Osimhen… Players to watch out for