Ruben Amorim made the ruthless decision to sanction Andre Onana’s departure for two reasons with the Manchester United goalkeeper sealing his move to Trabzonspor after both clubs “signed all documents” today, Fabrizio Romano reveals.
A last-minute pivot
Onana, 29, began this summer believing he was the number one goalkeeper at Old Trafford with the Red Devils having no plans to recruit a new option in between the sticks.
The Cameroonian finished it having been told he was third choice by his head coach after the arrival of Senne Lammens – Royal Antwerp’s 23-year-old goalkeeper – on deadline day.
Amorim opted for Bayindir over Onana for the beginning of the new campaign with the Turkey international starting United’s opening three fixtures in the Premier League, though he has cut an unsteady figure in each game.
The only match Onana has started was the humiliating penalty shoot out loss to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup clash where the 29-year-old produced a horrendous performance to almost single-handedly help the League Two side to victory.
The combination of both of Amorim’s senior goalkeepers continuing their poor form last season led United to accelerate the pursuit of a new shot stopper, sanctioned by both Amorim and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
A move for Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez was considered but the club’s first-choice target was Sammens. And, with just hours remaining of the summer window, a €25 million deal was struck with Antwerp after days of protracted negotiations.
But, as if often the case in football, one player’s arrival is facilitated by another’s departure – with Amorim making the decision to push for Onana’s exit after the English transfer window slammed shut for two key reasons.
A distracting presence
Onana is set to complete a season-long loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor, currently second in the Super Lig, after it was made clear opportunities would be limited for the Cameroon international this season.
Romano confirms that all the necessary documents have been signed today and the move is “sealed and completed”.
🚨🔐 Understand Manchester United and Trabzonspor have just counter signed all documents for Onana deal!
It’s all sealed and completed, story confirmed: Onana joins Trabzonspor on loan from Man United. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/yEg81W5H7p
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 8, 2025
Tweet: “Understand Manchester United and Trabzonspor have just counter signed all documents for Onana deal! It’s all sealed and completed, story confirmed: Onana joins Trabzonspor on loan from Man United.”
The arrival of Lammens and the preference for Bayindir has left Onana struggling to make the match day squad under Amorim, let alone the starting eleven.
But even if the former Inter Milan star had been content with this reduced role, his Portuguese coach would still have pushed for his exit as his mere presence at Old Trafford would have been a “problem”, Romano reveals.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano contends Amorim was keen to “clarify” his goalkeeping situation with four senior options – Lammens, Bayindir, Onana and Tom Heaton – in his squad.
The presence of a high-profile player like Onana – signed for £47.4m two seasons ago – in a back-up role would only have drawn negative attention in the media and been a “source of pressure” for his replacement, Lammens – a player with no experience at a club the size of United.
“[Loaning out Onana] is a decision made by the board, by the management, but especially by Ruben Amorim. Amorim wanted to clarify the goalkeeper situation.
“Amorim, from what I understand, also thought internally that to have four goalkeepers and a keeper like Onana staying on the bench, being a case (news topic) every single time he’s on the bench… you can imagine that for a manager it’s a problem.
“Every time Onana [is] on the bench, ‘Onana on the bench’, ‘Onana is not starting’, ‘Onana is on the bench’… maybe it could also be a source of pressure for Lammens.
“So everyone at Man Utd agreed on the possibility to send Onana on loan, giving him the chance to start on a regular basis and find his confidence and form again. This decision was approved also by Amorim.”
Romano predicts Lammens will “immediately” have the chance to claim his stake as United’s number one, explaining why Amorim reached the decision he did over Onana’s future.
“[Onana leaving] means that Senne Lammens will immediately have a big opportunity to compete for the first goalkeeper spot and probably to start as the first goalkeeper of Man Utd,” the Italian transfer guru concludes.
Featured image Clive Rose 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.
