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Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana's torrid ongoing campaign hit a new low today (January 23) when he was dropped for Cameroon's crucial AFCON clash against Gambia.
Onana was late arriving for the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament in the Ivory Coast. He sat out Les Lions Indomptables 1-1 draw with Guinea in their group stage opener.
However, the 27-year-old was brought back into Rigobert Song's starting XI for Cameroon's encounter with Senegal. He ended up on the losing side as his nation suffered a 3-1 defeat.
Andre Onana's performance against Senegal drew criticism and he finished the game without making a single save. He has the worst save success rate of any goalkeeper at AFCON, per WhoScored.
Thus, Song decided to drop the under-fire Manchester United goalkeeper in Cameroon's vital game against Gambia. He instead chose to start Onana's cousin Fabrice Ondoa who plays for French Championnat National outfit Nimes.
It's a must-win game for Cameroon to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the competition. They sit third in Group C with one point from two games.
It's yet another disastrous moment in a difficult period of Onana's career. He's struggled ever since making the switch from Serie A giants Inter Milan to Old Trafford last summer for £47.5 million.
Onana has kept just nine clean sheets in 30 games across competitions for the Red Devils. He's conceded 47 goals in those games, making some glaring mistakes along the way.
One fan urged United boss Erik ten Hag to also drop the Cameroonian at club level:
"Even if we sign the greatest defenders if we don’t drop Onana it’s pointless. Bench that fraud Ten Hag."
Another fan is bemused by Onana's struggles this season:
"Onana is so perplexing to me, legit one of the best goalkeepers in the world last season is a weekly meme now."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Onana being dropped:
Manchester United's Altay Bayindir is reportedly set to start against Newport County in Andre Onana's place
Andre Onana could be back in England by the time Manchester United face EFL League Two side Newport County in the FA Cup on Sunday (January 28). But, the Red Devils' summer signing isn't expected to start that FA Cup fourth-round clash at Rodney Parade.
The Daily Mail's Chris Wheeler reports that his Turkish understudy Altay Bayindir is set to make his debut against Newport. This doesn't depend on Onana and Cameroon making an early exit from AFCON.
Bayindir joined Manchester United from Turkish outfit Fenerbahce last summer for £4.3 million. He's been biding his time as backup to Onana but looks set for his first opportunity in Red Devils colors this weekend.
The 25-year-old kept 44 clean sheets in 145 games during his time at The Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Turkiye. His agent insisted months ago that the shot-stopper was ready to replace Onana.
