The 29-year-old has had a difficult campaign, which worsened last week, and his ..Continue Reading
wages were slashed after United failed to qualify for the Champions League.
According to The Athletic, Onana was taken aback by the pay cut and raised the matter with former sporting director Dan Ashworth.
His performances have significantly declined, reaching a low point during the 2-2 Europa League quarter-final draw with Lyon, where two of his mistakes led directly to goals.
Following that, he was left out of the squad entirely for United’s 4-1 defeat to Newcastle, with manager Ruben Amorim advising him to “disconnect.”
United paid £43.8 million to sign the Cameroonian from Inter Milan in the summer of 2023.
Despite his poor form, the club is reportedly planning to keep him, as they can’t afford to sell him for less than his current book value of £26 million—an amount unlikely to be matched by any potential buyers.
Onana’s contract runs for five years, and the transfer fee was spread over the duration of the deal. Offloading him for less than £26 million would count as a financial loss, something United, given their tight financial situation, are keen to avoid.
As a result, a sale seems improbable, with a loan move being a more feasible alternative.
Since the beginning of the 2023–24 season, Onana has committed nine errors leading to goals—more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League—casting serious doubt on his chances of being Amorim’s first-choice next season.
On dropping Onana prior to the Newcastle defeat, the manager said: ”It is a normal thing. Sometimes, you have to push the player to play again, sometimes you have to let him disconnect a little bit.
‘He will be in training to prepare for the next one [Lyon] so I felt that it was a good time for Andre to disconnect.
‘I think he was okay [about it] because I explained and then, you don’t need to like [it], but you understand because I explain every situation.
‘It’s a normal situation. You have to manage everything, sometimes people just look at the physical aspect but the mental aspect is really, really important.
‘It’s for just one game and we give Altay an opportunity, he deserves it also and then, again, tomorrow is a new life and we will prepare for the next one.’
