After long protracted talks, Manchester United have finally agreed a deal with Inter Milan to sign Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The deal is reported to be worth £47.2 million including add-ons and Onana is expected to jet off from Milan to Manchester to have his medicals and formally sign his contract. He could also travel with the Red Devils for their pre-season tour in the United States.
The move will see Onana reunite with manager Erik ten Hag who managed the 27-year-old while at Ajax Amsterdam. Above all, Onana replaces long-serving Spaniard David de Gea who departed the club after the expiration of his contract.
Onana will not only be an integral part of Ten Hag’s rebuild at United but he will be of keen interest to passionate fans across the African continent especially his home country Cameroon.
He will be the third African player in the current team after the Ivory Coast duo of Eric Bailly and Amad Diallo. The future of the two is uncertain as they are not first-team regulars and spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Sunderland and Marseille respectively. They are equally expected to be sent out on loan this summer or sold permanently.
This means Onana will be the only African first-team regular and more attention will be on him. Indeed, while his transfer news has been making rounds, some fans have been sceptical about his abilities, especially making saves in the manner De Gea did.
Away from all those concerns, Onana has cemented his place as another Cameroonian to play for United. The Central African country has had a rich history of producing top-class players that graced the global stage such as Samuel Eto’o, Geremi, Jean Makoun, Rigobert Song, and Alex Song among others all featuring for different European giants.
Man United have previously had one Cameroonian in their ranks in the person of Eric Djemba-Djemba. The retired midfielder was signed by Red Devils from French club Nantes in the summer of 2003. He made 22 appearances in his first season, 15 coming in the Premier League. He scored twice, one in the 5-0 bashing of Greek giants Panathinaikos in the UEFA Champions League before netting his second in a 3-2 extra-time victory over Leeds United in the third round of the EFL Cup. He also had two assists that season and took home an FA Cup and Community Shield winner’s medal.
Djemba-Djemba’s appearances during the 2004-05 season for United were more sporadic, playing 17 times of which just six were in the Premier League. He was ultimately sold to Aston Villa during the winter transfer window and played just six times between February and May.
Djemba-Djemba’s name is clearly one that is not fondly remembered at Old Trafford due to his lack of limited game time. He was seen as a potential replacement for then-ageing captain Roy Keane but the then-22-year-old never came close to doing that.
That is not going to be the case for Onana. He will be filling a big role that is very important and has famed history at United. From Peter Schmeichel to Edin van der Sar to De Gea, the Red Devils have been popular for their goalkeepers in over three decades of success. Onana needs to ensure he keeps that reputation intact because doing so means his stock will rise and it will give his country Cameroon and the African continent more reckoning.
Should Onana not make an impression, he risks being put in the same bracket as Djemba-Djemba and that would not be good for his name which should be among some of the earlier-mentioned Cameroonians that made football a joy to behold.
