Andre Onana knows what Man Utd dressing room think of him as loan deal is finally agreed

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has agreed to join Turkish side Trabzonspor on loan for the remainder of the season. And the 29-year-old will leave temporarily knowing he's had the backing of his team-mates through a tricky tenure at Old Trafford.

The Cameroonian arrived from Inter Milan two years ago for £43.8million , and while he has shown glimpses of quality, errors have been plentiful and costly. Last season under Ruben Amorim , Onana came under heavy fire for performances in the Europa League , and added to these criticisms with a calamitous performance during the Red Devils' shock Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby Town last month.

He is now set to join Trabzonspor on a season-long loan in light of United signing Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens on deadline day for £18.2m. No fee or option to buy is included, and the move will be sealed once he returns from international duty. Onana says his goodbyes after enduring a difficult spell, but leaves knowing his team-mates have had his back and rate him highly.

In 2024, Onana began building on a dismal first season in the Premier League , which saw him produce costly mistakes in the Champions League . Peer Diogo Dalot was asked about his growth from season one to season two, and replied with praise.

"At this club, because of the demands and the expectations we have here, it can be really easy for you to fall mentally and to feel really bad," stated Dalot. "I think he found this balance of being really calm and really confident, and I think it shows on the pitch that he is really good."

However, errors would return to the goalkeeper's game, and in December, he cost his club in back-to-back matches. After a questionable performance against Nottingham Forest , in which a long-range Morgan Gibbs-White strike was dealt with poorly , Onana made headlines for a Europa League error days later.

Early in United's clash with Viktoria Plzen, Onana sold defender Matthijs de Ligt short with a pass and allowed United's opponents to open the scoring. The Red Devils did win 2-1, though captain Bruno Fernandes backed his shot-stopper after the full-time whistle.

"We have huge belief in Andre," said Fernandes. "He knows he made a mistake, he's a clever guy. We don't need to tell him. He's going to help many times coming out from the back. We trust his qualities on the ball."

The mistakes did not stop there. Roughly four months later, Onana would face intense scrutiny for a host of errors when United tackled Lyon in the same competition. During the first leg of the quarter-final tie, he was at fault for both goals in a 2-2 draw and was even dropped for a midweek match against Newcastle .

He returned for the second leg, with both Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro throwing their weight behind the 29-year-old, indicating how much respect Onana's United peers have for him. The Red Devils progressed past Lyon dramatically before losing to Tottenham in the final 1-0.

"I think first and foremost, Andre has proven in his past that he is an excellent goalkeeper," Maguire commented. "He has proven that at Inter, he has won numerous trophies and played in a Champions League final.

"During a career, you always have spells where you have ups and downs and find yourself a little bit out of form. It is about how you build yourself back in and find that confidence to perform again," he added, with Yoro stating: "Now, Andre, we're with him, of course, we support him."

Onana reciprocates such respect, as he told PA last year: "In the beginning it was difficult. I am used to moving to [different] countries but it took me six months to feel good here. I was lucky because I have good team-mates, they were helping me.

"When I arrived here, I arrived as the best goalkeeper in the world and boom, it went down and you see how difficult football is sometimes. It depends on you if you want to stay down there or if you want to stand up and fight.

"But I decided to not stay there but to stand up and fight. Because I know who I am. I know what I did to arrive here and never forget what you did. Never stay too high but also don't stay too low, because at the end of the day, being a player for such a big club, when you win it's top and when you don't win it's terrible."

Onana's colleagues haven't always been so warm. In May, during their Europa League final loss, he and midfielder Casemiro got into a heated argument after a cheap corner was given away early in the game. It was during the competition, too, that ex-Red Devil and former Lyon star Nemanja Matic dubbed Onana "one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history."

Regardless, Onana will now wave goodbye to Old Trafford for the time being, despite most of his team-mates consistently having his back. He is able to make such a move because the Turkish transfer window does not close until September 12, unlike the British market, which shut on September 1.

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