Andre Onana, the goalie for Manchester United, may opt not to represent Cameroon at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in order to concentrate on enhancing his play at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils paid the 27-year-old close to £50 million to move to Manchester over the summer, and he took over as the team’s starting goalkeeper after David de Gea’s contract was voluntarily released.
Onana has had a challenging first few months at United, and Erik ten Hag’s team has had a sluggish start to the season in part due to a few individual mistakes. In addition to losing four of their first seven Premier League games, United also suffered defeats in both of their Champions League group stage matches, falling 3-2 to Galatasaray at home after losing a thrilling seven-goal thriller to Bayern Munich earlier in the season.
Onana was in charge of giving up the ball in the moments leading up to Casemiro’s dismissal last week, and he also let Leroy Sane’s feeble attempt crawl under his body in Munich.
And according to a report from ESPN, Onana may decide forgo representing Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations in favor of turning things around at United and assisting the team in moving up the Premier League standings.
Prior to the 2022 World Cup, Onana left the national team after a dispute with the head coach, Rigobert Song, but he returned in September after being approached by the Cameroon FA and the government.
Considering that United’s backup goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, who was acquired from Fenerbahce during the summer transfer window, has yet to play for the team, Ten Hag’s probable stay through the winter months might be quite advantageous.
To fend off increased interest in his performances, Onana will need to enhance his performances. Prior to his debut at Old Trafford, his ability to play out from the back was praised, but a series of poor short passes have frequently brought unneeded pressure into United’s defense.
His placement has also come under scrutiny while facing shots on goal, with United’s early two-goal deficit to Nottingham Forest receiving particular criticism as Onana failed to get forward and cut off the angle for Taiwo Awoniyi’s breakaway strike in the second minute.
