When André Onana walked into Old Trafford in the summer of 2023, he did so with the confidence of a man on the rise. Fresh from starting a Champions League final with Inter Milan, the Cameroonian goalkeeper was heralded as the modern replacement for David de Gea — a bold shot-stopper with the flair to play out from the back. For Erik ten Hag, who had worked with him at Ajax, Onana was not just a signing; he was a statement about Manchester United’s future.
Two seasons later, that future looks very different. Onana has slipped to third choice in the goalkeeping pecking order and is now set to leave on loan to Trabzonspor. From being entrusted to guard United’s goal on the grandest stages, he finds himself edged out of the picture entirely.
🚨💣 BREAKING: Trabzonspor reach verbal agreement with Manchester United to sign André Onana on loan.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 6, 2025
Club to club verbal agreement in place and final decision now up to Onana.
It’s only up to the goalkeeper. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/QUCxgIEN9u
On the surface, his fall appears to be a matter of form. Onana has been directly responsible for more errors leading to goals than any other Premier League goalkeeper since his arrival. High-profile mistakes in Europe against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray became memes overnight, while his disastrous performance in a Europa League clash with Lyon, where he was culpable for both goals, felt like a turning point. For a goalkeeper, trust is everything. Once it goes, there is rarely a way back.
Yet to frame Onana’s struggles purely as a personal collapse would be to miss the wider point. His story is one chapter in a much larger book about Manchester United’s inability to provide an environment where elite players can flourish.
Think of Jadon Sancho, who arrived as one of Europe’s most exciting wide talents only to fade amid managerial disputes and a crisis of confidence. Or Harry Maguire, the world’s most expensive defender turned lightning rod for criticism, stripped of the captaincy and often dropped. Or Antony, signed for nearly £90 million, who has yet to find the rhythm that made him shine at Ajax. Even before them, Paul Pogba’s second spell followed the same script: talent brought in with fanfare, but ultimately undone by a toxic mix of pressure, inconsistency, and dysfunction.
Onana’s decline has also been shaped by United’s turbulence off the pitch. Ten Hag’s departure ushered in Ruben Amorim, who inherited not just a fractured dressing room but also a goalkeeper stripped of confidence. Amorim initially tried to defend him publicly, even explaining that leaving Onana out was to help him “disconnect” and reset emotionally. But actions speak louder than words. United moved quickly to bring in Senne Lammens, while also leaning on Altay Bayindir and veteran Tom Heaton. Within weeks, Onana had slipped from No.1 to No.3.
The narrative is painfully familiar. United sign players with the expectation that Old Trafford will elevate them; instead, the club’s instability swallows them whole. Managers come and go, tactics shift, the spotlight never dims, and for too many, the weight of the badge becomes heavier than the chance to shine.
Onana’s case is especially stark because of the speed of his fall. In just over a year, he has gone from contesting Europe’s biggest prize to searching for minutes in Turkey. He shoulders much of the blame — too many mistakes, too little composure when it mattered most. But he is also a victim of a club where even the brightest signings dim over time.
Manchester United wanted André Onana to be a cornerstone of their rebuild. Instead, his story has become another cautionary tale: at Old Trafford, talent alone is rarely enough.
