Why Man United Risk Seeing Onana Banned In January 

Andre Onana may face a ban at Manchester United if he chooses to forego his AFCON duties with Cameroon, THEEAGLE learnt.

Following his £48 million ($61 million) move to Old Trafford, the former Ajax and Inter goalkeeper has had a difficult start to life in England. Due to his numerous costly mistakes, the 27-year-old’s potential as a long-term starting goalie has come under scrutiny. There have even been rumours that David de Gea may be enticed to return to England as a free agent.

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Onana made a U-turn on his international retirement in 2023, which allowed him to be considered for his country’s squad again, although he is reportedly considering missing the Africa Cup of Nations in the New Year. He would prefer to stay with United and try to earn Erik ten Hag’s respect.

FIFA rules do, however, dictate that any player selected for tournament duty will have to sit out domestic action if they decide not to accept that invitation. The rulebook states: “A player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams is, unless otherwise agreed by the relevant association, not entitled to play for the club with which he is registered during the period for which he has been released or should have been released pursuant to the provisions of this annex, plus an additional period of five days.”

Cameroon could give in to Onana’s pressure and ignore him entirely. However, he would be unavailable for United during the AFCON slot in the athletic calendar if he was picked and decided not to travel to the Ivory Coast for a continental competition. He might have to miss the Red Devils’ FA Cup third-round match in addition to four Premier League games against Tottenham, Wolves, West, and Aston Villa.