Manchester United have verbally agreed a loan exit for Andre Onana and a report has seemingly telegraphed which of Altay Bayindir and Senne Lammens will now start in goal for the Red Devils.
Four into one does not go and that’s the situation Man Utd found themselves in after signing Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp. Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton are all on the books and at 23 years old, the new signing is the youngest of the lot.
Onana has endured an error-strewn two-plus years at Old Trafford and his dire display in the League Cup exit to Grimsby Town suggested lessons have not been learned.
Bayindir, meanwhile, was at fault for Arsenal’s winner on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Clearly, Man Utd had to act and the arrival of Lammens has now sparked the potential exit of Onana.
The Turkish transfer window remains open until September 12 and taking to X, Fabrizio Romano revealed an agreement with Trabzonspor has been struck.
“Trabzonspor reach verbal agreement with Manchester United to sign Andre Onana on loan,” wrote the trusted reporter.
“Club to club verbal agreement in place and final decision now up to Onana. It’s only up to the goalkeeper.”
A follow-up from Ben Jacobs revealed Onana is now giving serious thought to completing the loan move.
“Understand Andre Onana is now giving serious consideration to leaving Manchester United for Trabzonspor on loan,” wrote Jacobs on X.
“Onana was initially intent to stay, but a move to Turkey could now be possible. Manchester United waiting on Onana’s decision.”
Who’ll start in goal for Man Utd
A recent report from The Athletic stated Lammens was signed with a view to competing for the starting spot from day one.
Tellingly, the report named Onana as his primary competition for starts, and omitted Bayindir from the conversation.
As such, the battle to be Man Utd’s starting goalkeeper appears to have been won by Lammens. The fact United have verbally agreed Onana’s exit is compelling evidence of that.
Lammens racked up the highest save percentage of all goalkeepers in Europe’s top 10 leagues last season (77.4%).
The giant Belgian also conceded roughly 18 goals FEWER than he would have been expected to concede based off his xG (expected goals) numbers.
Clearly, Lammens is a high-quality goalkeeper, but as we’ve seen on so many occasions in recent times, getting the job done at Man Utd is a whole different ball game.
And despite not even making his debut yet, Lammens is already coming under intense scrutiny for his one perceived weakness.