Trabzonspor was a surprise destination for Onana last month, with the club having only finished seventh in the 2024-25 Super Lig and not competing in Europe this season. But, with the major European transfer windows already closed by that point, the Cameroon international didn’t have an awful lot of options, with Turkey seemingly more appealing that rumoured Saudi Pro League interest.
But the global scrutiny that comes with playing for Manchester United, particularly a poor version of Manchester United, doesn’t exist in Turkish football. The league doesn’t have a significant international following, even less so outside the traditional Istanbul giants, and joining Trabzonspor has allowed Onana the chance to reset and get back to basics. A reported pay rise that could see him double his United salary through generous bonuses probably didn’t hurt either.
Onana has been a Trabzonspor player for less than a full month. But, according to The Sun, the Turkish club has already communicated to the his representatives that they’d be very happy for him to stay at Papara Park, on Turkey’s northern Black Sea coastline, beyond the initial loan.
Trabzonspor have taken seven points from a possible 12 in Onana’s four appearances so far. He’s kept two clean sheets and has conceded five times across the other three games, but the club is said to have been impressed by his performances. Beyond that, it is also claimed that Onana’s positive behind-the-scenes impact has been noticed, supposedly quickly developing into a dressing room leader and adapting well to what are brand new surroundings.
Unlike the £38 million ($51m) easily triggerable obligation to buy in Rasmus Hojlund’s loan to Napoli, or the £26m ($35m) option Barcelona have on Marcus Rashford, United did not include any such clause with Trabzonspor when it comes to Onana’s future beyond June 2026.
It means that if Trabzonspor want to keep him permanently, a fee will have to be negotiated from scratch. It could work both for and against either club, with a resurgent season likely to drive up the valuation and potentially price the Turkish side, whose transfer record is under €7m (£6m/$8m), out of the market. Equally, if Onana’s early form eventually deserts him, United could find it difficult to extract an acceptable fee out of a potential deal come the summer.
The agreement that took Onana to Old Trafford from Ajax in 2023 was worth up to £47.2m ($64m), which the Red Devils will almost certainly recoup just a fraction of, if and when he is sold.
Back in Manchester, Senne Lammens will have been happy to come through his delayed United debut unscathed, handed a refreshingly simple test to begin with against Sunderland.
The 23-year-old Belgian replaced the under fire Bayindir for the 2-0 win at Old Trafford, which Ruben Amorim put down to rotation. But that place could now be Lammens’ to lose, with fans seeing no reason why Bayindir, whose aerial weakness has been routinely exposed this season, deserves to return to the side unless there is a particular need for the new stopper to come out of the team.
United have also been curiously linked by a Spanish report with Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who is on the road to recovery from back surgery but is not thought to have a future in Catalonia following the capture of Joan Garcia. Ter Stegen is believed to have turned down Monaco during the summer, while Newcastle and Tottenham are credited with interest too.
