Man Utd could have to keep Andre Onana as their number one goalkeeper for another season as hopes of “a profit are almost non-existent”.
The Red Devils have had a season to forget with their 4-1 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday meaning Man Utd are now 14th in the Premier League table, below David Moyes’ Everton.
One player who has been particularly poor in recent weeks is Onana with Ruben Amorim dropping the Cameroon international from the squad to face the Magpies over the weekend.
That came after Onana was at fault for both Lyon goals as Man Utd drew 2-2 against the French side in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
Explaining his decision to drop Onana, Amorim told Sky Sports on Sunday: “Of course, you have to see the context. 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.
“Tomorrow, 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.
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“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.”
Amorim added: “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.”
There have been reports recently that Amorim ‘wants’ Onana ‘out’ of Old Trafford in the summer with Espanyol’s Joan Garcia and Real Sociedad’s Alex Remiro among the players linked to replace him.
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But The Athletic‘s David Ornstein insists that a sale is unlikely as the possibility of making a profit on the £47.2m they paid in 2023 for Onana is “almost non-existent”.
Ornstein told NBC Sports: “It does raise questions about the future of Onana. He joined for £47.2 million in the summer of 2023, signing a five-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.
“Unless somebody came in with huge money for him, the hopes of United selling him for a profit are almost non-existent, and that would mean a PSR profitability and sustainability loss, which could rule out the possibility of selling him.
“He has switched agents in recent months. That was meant for a new contract or improved terms. He may now have to look at trying to shift his player, and this would not have been expected for Manchester United.”
