Andre Onana has been left out of the Manchester United who travel to Tyneside to face an in-form Newcastle side today.
The news was confirmed by The Athletic’s David Ornstein this morning.
Writing in The Athletic, the tier one journalist stated that:
“Onana has played every minute of United’s 69 Premier League matches since joining from Inter in the summer of 2023, but will be rested by head coach Ruben Amorim for the trip to St. James’ Park.
“The 29-year-old was at fault for both of Lyon’s goals in Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first leg in France, which United drew 2-2.”
🚨 Andre Onana left out of Man Utd squad for trip to Newcastle. 29yo Cameroon goalkeeper not in group that travelled north after tough period on/off pitch + among those rested/rotated. Altay Bayindir deputises; unclear who #MUFC start v Lyon @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/YVXsFsXHYR
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) April 13, 2025
It is a strong move by head coach Ruben Amorim, who is putting his faith in reserve ‘keeper Altay Bayindir, who will make his Premier League debut for the club.
Bayindir has played seven cup games for the Red Devils, including a man-of-the-match outing against Arsenal in the FA Cup. He subsequently got injured, which may have cost him the opportunity to stake a claim earlier.
Ornstein says that “Onana is likely to return to selection for Thursday’s return leg against Lyon at Old Trafford.”
When asked about the Cameroonian’s display after the Lyon match, Amorim said:
“That can happen with any player. We all try to help. There’s nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him.
“The most important thing is to be natural and when the time comes, I will choose the best XI to play but I’m really confident in Andre.”
The issue is that these costly mistakes were not the first made by the keeper, who arrived at Old Trafford with the reputation of being one of the world’s best and with a Ballon d’Or nomination from his time at Inter Milan.
Among the catalogue of errors he has committed since joining United, last season’s Champions League performances stand out as being among the worst.
The vast majority of United fans will almost certainly back Amorim’s call and all eyes are now on Bayindir. If the Turkish giant puts in a good performance against Newcastle today, he will almost certainly keep his place for Thursday’s showdown. However, if he too shows frailty, then Amorim will have a big decision to make that could define United’s entire season.
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Red Billy
Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.
