Andre Onana’s relationship with Ruben Amorim had “broken down” beyond repair before the Manchester United goalkeeper agreed a season-long loan to Trabzonspor, according to an explosive report.
A new ‘bomb squad’ member
INEOS have been intent on shifting every member of the ‘bomb squad’ at Old Trafford – a group of five players, including Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia, with no future at the club under Amorim.
These unwanted stars were made to train separately from the first-team squad and excluded from the pre-season tour of the United States, while exits were explored by the club.
And as the summer transfer window slammed shut on September 1, only Malacia remains. Antony and Garnacho left on permanent deals to Real Betis and Chelsea, while Rashford and Sancho agreed loan moves to Barcelona and Aston Villa.
But, in a shocking twist, Onana can now be counted among this incendiary group with the Cameroon international demonstrating a “lack of involvement and interest in working for the team in the final days before the international break,” inside sources revealed to The Sun.
The report reveals Onana went as far as “effectively refusing to even acknowledge [Amorim] in training” after the Portuguese coach’s decision to drop him in favour of Altay Bayindir for the start of the season.
A source close to the training ground alleges “it felt like Andre was there to just show up but wasn’t there or showing any team mentality.”
Amorim’s Ruthless Reaction
Amorim has demonstrated a ruthless streak when dealing with players he considers to have fallen below standards since arriving at Old Trafford last November.
The Sun reports the former Sporting manager was left “deeply unimpressed” by the physical condition Onana reported to pre-season training in.
“Amorim had already ushered Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony out of the door, with left-back Tyrell Malacia linked with his own move to Turkey.
“Onana’s relationship with Amorim is understood to have broken down irretrievably over the past few weeks. And the manager feels that his exit has cleansed the last remaining negative training ground influence – allowing him to really kick on with the new squad at his disposal.
“Amorim was deeply unimpressed with the hamstring injury his planned first choice picked up at the start of pre-season training, especially when it emerged he had been playing on a dangerously muddy pitch in his homeland before returning to England.”
Onana was also believed to want to discuss new contract terms over the summer, as he was unhappy with the Champions League cut in his contract; a difficult stance to contend with given how pivotal the Cameroonian’s mistakes have been in ensuring United are not in Europe’s elite competition since his arrival.
Naturally, Amorim was unimpressed by his goalkeeper’s approach – and the seeds of Onana’s exit had been planted.
The arrival of Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day gave further assurances to the 40-year-old coach that his issues with Onana would not impact the performances of the team.
And these concerns would have reached breaking point after the 29-year-old goalkeeper’s apathetic displays in training, however, with a zero tolerance policy towards players who do not give their all for the team.
It’s little wonder, therefore, that Onana’s exit from Old Trafford came a week after these reports of poor attitude at Carrington, with a loan move to Turkish side Trabzonspor set to be completed this week.
Despite the English transfer window having shut, Amorim added one more member to his ‘bomb squad’ – and he wasted no time in sanctioning an explosive exit for the unwanted star; one not even Onana could ignore.
Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
