Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Sebastian Bassong has slammed Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana for making a ‘bad decision’.
Andre Onana is set to join up with his Cameroon teammates in the immediate aftermath of Manchester United’s game against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
The Manchester United goalkeeper has come under fire this season for his mistakes that have cost the Red Devils a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
His catalogue of errors against Galatasaray in the 3-3 draw in Turkey really sealed the Red Devils’ fate in the competition and there had even been calls for backup goalkeeper Altay Bayindir to start in goal for United.
Bassong on Onana
The former Ajax goalkeeper has also come under fire in recent weeks as reports have claimed that the 27-year-old was delaying flying out for the Africa Cup Of Nations.
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Sebastian Bassong, who also is from Cameroon, has slammed the goalkeeper for his decision to fly out for the tournament so late.
“It’s out of order from both sides. It’s disrespectful from Manchester United to request Onana to do such a thing and it’s really low from Onana to even consider it,” Bassong told the BBC.
“It sends such a bad message for not only Cameroon, but for the respect that people will have for Afcon and the way they should treat us. If we can’t even respect ourselves, how can we expect other people to treat us any different? For me, Andre Onana is shooting us and himself in the foot.
“If I was in the squad I wouldn’t be having any of that. You can’t play a game the day before and think you can just fly out to the continent and play another game. Just the thought of it drives me crazy, I’m so disappointed.”
Goalkeeping conundrum
When Onana and Bayindir were signed by United in the summer, these deals were done with the knowledge that Erik ten Hag’s first-choice option would miss a month of the season due to the tournament.
However, Turkish goalkeeper Bayindir, who has yet to play a single minute for the Red Devils, may well not get his chance in the first team now.
Despite the 25-year-old impressing in training, Bayindir has not played a game for the Red Devils and the Turkish goalkeeper surely would have been disheartened to see Onana start the FA Cup match against Wigan.
Bayindir’s lack of game time will hinder United too as the goalkeeper may not be match-fit and may well be thrown into a game and not be used to the pressure of Old Trafford. This has been handled terribly by the Red Devils.
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