Andre Onana is packing his bags for Turkey again. The Manchester United goalkeeper has agreed to spend a second straight season on loan at Trabzonspor, the Turkish club confirmed Wednesday. No surprise buyout clause. No permanent transfer. Just another year of the same arrangement.
This is not how it was supposed to go for a guy United paid £43 million to sign from Inter Milan back in 2023. But that’s the reality now. Onana made 33 appearances for Trabzonspor last season, helped them finish third in the Super Lig and win the Turkish Cup, and apparently liked it enough to run it back.
United put out a statement that basically said “good luck, Andre” without getting into the messy details. And there are messy details.
The Money Situation
Here’s the tricky part. United are not collecting a transfer fee for Onana. Not yet anyway. Trabzonspor is covering his full wages this time around — and those wages went up because United qualified for the Champions League. The Turkish club is also paying an undisclosed loan fee, but that’s not exactly the same as cashing out on a big asset.
Onana has two years left on his United contract. So unless something changes, this whole thing gets revisited again next summer.
How He Lost The Job
Onana did not start last season as United’s backup. He was the guy, until he wasn’t. Former manager Ruben Amorim benched him early in the season after a string of high-profile mistakes. Then Michael Carrick took over as head coach and never brought Onana back into the picture.
Senne Lammens, a signing from 2025, has established himself as United’s No. 1. The club might bring in another keeper this summer, but they clearly decided Onana wasn’t going to be the backup to Lammens.
It’s a rough fall for a guy Erik ten Hag pushed hard to bring in. Ten Hag knew Onana from their Ajax days and believed he could be the long-term answer in goal. But two years at Old Trafford were defined by erratic performances. His last appearance in a United shirt came in a Carabao Cup loss to League Two side Grimsby last August. That’s the kind of detail that tells you everything.
Why This Keeps Happening
Onana is not a bad goalkeeper. He showed that in Turkey last season. The question is whether the Premier League pressure cooker just got to him at United, or if there’s something deeper that keeps him from being reliable at that level.
Trabzonspor clearly doesn’t mind. They’re getting a proven international keeper for a season without a big fee. United gets his salary off the books. Onana gets to play. For now, that works for everybody.
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