Why Andre Onana is confident he can replace Senne Lammens at Man Utd | Football

It looked like Andre Onana’s Manchester United career was at an end when he left on loan last year, but the goalkeeper still fancies his chances of regaining his place in the first team.

The 29-year-old joined the Red Devils from Inter Milan in 2023 and was first choice in goal for two seasons, making 102 appearances in all competitions.

Things changed last summer, with Senne Lammens coming in and Onana heading out on loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor.

The Cameroon international played just one match for the Red Devils this season, which was something of a disaster as Ruben Amorim’s team were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby Town.

With Onana out of the picture, Lammens has come in and impressed, nailing down the starting slot after replacing Altay Bayindir early in the campaign.

Few would expect Onana to now return and replace Lammens in the starting XI, but the African stopper intends to report for training in the summer and much will depend on who will be in charge of Manchester United at that point.

Geremi, the former Chelsea and Newcastle midfielder who is a close friend of Onana, says the goalkeeper is relishing a challenge and wants to be involved with Manchester United seemingly on an upward curve again.

‘Listen, I know Andre very well and during his time at United there were a lot of things that were not right,’ Geremi told Telecom Asia.

‘It wasn’t just him. And believe me, with the arrival of Michael Carrick, things are looking good for everyone, including him.

‘He is clearly talented and his gifts are rare. The next thing is for him to go back there and fight for his spot.

‘Andre has always excelled when faced with a challenge. He thrives when he’s given a fair chance to prove himself.’

Geremi, who won two Premier League titles with Chelsea and two Champions Leagues with Real Madrid, added: ‘In my career I enjoyed playing in teams with big ambitions and big personalities.

‘If I had a few bad games, there was always someone knocking on the manager’s door asking for a chance.

‘That meant I had to stand up, be counted and not walk away. But that is for Andre to decide.’

Lammens has been getting rave reviews, notably from the opposition, with Everton boss David Moyes describing him as the Red Devils’ best player in the 1-0 win for the visitors on Merseyside earlier this week.

‘Their goalie was brilliant tonight,’ said the Scot.

‘The save he made from Michael Keane, the way he dealt with corner kicks. The pressure we had. For me, their goalkeeper was the best player.’

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