Is Andre Onana's time up at Manchester United?

Altay Bayındır was in goal for Manchester United’s Premier League opener against Arsenal, and some people were not surprised.

Their lack of surprise did not come from the knowledge that Andrea Onana was injured, because he wasn’t; it came from the fact that they knew his time would soon be up at the club.

Onana was groomed at Barcelona and knew how to use his feet well as a goalkeeper, which helped him earn a good reputation when he played at Ajax.

He is also a good shotstopper, but clubs have mostly invested in him because he is superb with his feet, and the Cameroonian remains that good.

However, goalkeepers are meant to make saves in goal and not to know how to play with their feet; teams leave that for other outfield stars.

Onana was a solid goalie at Inter Milan, and his superb form helped them to reach the Champions League final in 2023, which they lost to Manchester City.

That summer, United spent £43.8 million to add him to their squad, and it was a superb piece of business by Inter, who had signed him for free just 12 months earlier.

Erik ten Hag was reunited with a player he worked with at Ajax, and fans who buy Manchester United tickets were happy to have him in their squad.

During his first season, Onana began to show that United may have made a mistake in adding him to their squad.

For some time, players who move to the clubs have become worse than before they join, and some become better players as soon as they leave Old Trafford.

Onana’s first major bad game was United’s 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, with the goalkeeper making basic howlers that no goalkeeper should make, even in the lower leagues.

Those were early days and fans were not too concerned, knowing very well that mistakes often happen, so they were hoping for better days ahead.

In another Champions League game in the same season, just a month apart, Onana delivered another disasterclass as the goalkeeper directly caused two of the three goals that Galataray scored in a 3-3 draw.

United’s Champions League campaign in the 2023/2024 season ended at the group stage, but if they had another goalie between the posts, they probably would have had a better season in Europe.

It seemed he was getting better during his second season at the club when the term began, but Onana soon showed that old habits rarely die as he made some costly mistakes in several games.

Ten Hag spent a greater part of his time as United manager defending the former Barcelona goalkeeper, and the club ultimately sacked him.

What changed under Ruben Amorim?

With a new manager at the helm, there would inevitably be winners and losers at Manchester United.

However, Amorim gave everyone a chance to show they are good enough for him to keep, and Onana was one of those players.

The Cameroonian had the chance to do well under a new manager, and Amorim backed him, like most players, to improve as the season continued.

However, Onana showed his true colours in many games, most notably the Europa League game against Lyon.

United still managed to reach the final of the competition, where they lost to Tottenham, and there were rumours that he would leave the club.

With Onana not getting better at cutting out the mistakes from his game, United now seem to be moving on.

He missed much of pre-season because of injuries, but United’s recruitment focused on improving their attack, a position where they have poor players.

They have splashed the cash on the likes of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.

But United knows they will not make much progress if they keep Onana and Bayındır, who have shown they cannot save the simplest of shots.

They have now closed in on signing Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.

Lammens delivered some eye-catching performances last season, which made the top clubs in Europe follow him.

He won at least two Player of the Month awards at his club, which shows how good he could truly be as a goalkeeper.

Will Lammens replace at Manchester United?

Even neutrals who buy Premier League tickets will support the Manchester United manager if he decides to drop Onana from his team this summer.

If you ask some fans, they will say it has been long overdue for United to bring in a new goalkeeper.

Replacing the Cameroonian in goal for the game against Arsenal was a clear sign that Amorim is moving on from Onana, and he will not allow any player to hold the team back.

There is already a list of players that he has to sell if he wants to be successful as their coach.

Onana will now be added to that list if he was not there because it will cause more distractions if he remains in the squad and does not get game time.

Lammens will have to fight for his place on the team when he arrives, but for a goalkeeper who had saved four penalties by mid-February this year, it seems he will walk into the United starting XI.

Lammens kept 10 clean sheets in 40 league games, including the playoffs last season, while Onana kept 9 clean sheets in 34 league games.

However, we must bear in mind that Onana plays for a team with better defenders, and the same cannot be said of Lammens.

Manchester United must not expect miracles from Lammens

Although he is arriving at the club to solve an obvious problem, it would be smart if Manchester United fans do not expect instant reward from signing Lammens.

The Belgian is still just 23 and has never played in a top European league, so there will be shaky moments when he starts to play for them.

However, we do not expect his performances to be as poor as that of Onana, who has had more than enough time to improve and has failed to do so.

Onana will probably perform better at his next club, like most players do when they leave United, but the time has come for the club to replace him.