Manchester United are becoming increasingly resigned to the fact that Andre Onana will be heading to the Africa Cup of Nations in January, according to reports.
Andre Onana has been one of Manchester United’s more consistent players this season after a tough start at Old Trafford and has moved up the Golden Glove rankings.
The goalkeeper kept a clean sheet against Luton Town last weekend and made a stunning save to deny Carlton Morris from giving the visitors the lead at Old Trafford.
However, it now seems Onana could be missing for the Red Devils for the best part of a month with Altay Bayindir potentially in line to make his debut for United come the turn of the year.
Onana’s decision
According to a report from The Mirror, the 27-year-old goalkeeper is siding towards playing in AFCON after it looked like he wouldn’t be featuring for Cameroon due to a fallout with their head coach, Rigobert Song.
The fallout was believed to be about the style of play asked of Onana during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and, as a result, it looked like his international career was over.
However, bridges have been built according to the report with the goalkeeper now more open to the opportunity of helping his national side win the tournament in the winter.
United have reportedly held discussions with Onana about his plans for January and fear they are powerless to stop their first-choice keeper from representing his country early next year.
The winter break introduced this year in the Premier League means that Onana will miss a minimum of just one game but a maximum of eight games if Cameroon performs well in the competition.
It’s not just the goalkeeper who could miss out for United in January. Amad Diallo, Sofyan Amrabat, and Hannibal Mejbri could also be selected for the competition taking place in the Ivory Coast.
Bayindir’s time to shine
The Turkish goalkeeper Bayindir, who joined the club from Fenerbahce for around £4.3 million, has yet to play a minute of competitive football for the Red Devils this season.
Bayindir was signed as a backup goalkeeper following Dean Henderson’s move to Crystal Palace in the summer but has struggled for any game time in the Carabao Cup or the Champions League.
This is partly down to Onana’s recent form who has really turned his season around after a poor start to his career in England following two horrific mistakes against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.
Missing the former Inter Milan goalkeeper will be a big blow but the hope is that the Turkish shot-stopper can be a more than capable stand-in.
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