Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has been left out of Cameroon’s squad for AFCON.
Andre Onana Dropped From Cameroon Squad for AFCON
Manchester United flop Andre Onana has been left out of Cameroon’s squad for AFCON.
The 29-year-old has spent the early stages of the campaign on loan at Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor, and despite an upturn in form, he has been snubbed for an international call-up.
It comes just days after national team head coach Marc Brys was sacked by the Cameroonian Football Federation amid accusations of ‘professional failure’ and ‘subterfuge’.
David Pagou has been appointed in his place, with high-profile stars Vincent Aboubakar (Neftci), Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Napoli) and Michael Ngadeu (Beijing Guoan) missing out on a place in the AFCON squad alongside Onana.
Onana’s omission isn’t a total surprise given his turbulent form at Old Trafford in recent years, as well as his recent history in representing Cameroon at major international tournaments.
The former Ajax and Inter stopper was sent home early from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar due to a disciplinary issue related to arguments about manager Rigobert Song’s coaching tactics.
He also lost his place in the starting line-up at the 2023 AFCON in the Ivory Coast. This was due to the fact that he delayed his arrival at the tournament to play an extra game for United.
In the months that followed, he fell out of favour under Ruben Amorim at Manchester United and was eventually sent out on loan to Turkey.
Subsequently, the Red Devils signed Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp as his replacement.
Reports suggest Trabzonspor will look to sign Onana on a permanent basis next summer.
FECAFOOT are yet to release an official explanation for his exclusion.
Cameroon get their tournament underway against Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Gabon in Group F on Wednesday, 24 December, before taking on the Ivory Coast and Mozambique.
Mazraoui, Amad and Mbeumo Receive AFCON Call-Ups
Meanwhile, a trio of Manchester United stars have been called up for the tournament.
All of Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo were set to miss eight games if their respective nations, Morocco, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon, make it to the latter stages.
This has now been reduced to six as the deadline to release players for the tournament has been extended, meaning they will be available for United’s next three Premier League games.
At a minimum, the trio will miss league fixtures against Aston Villa, Newcastle and Wolves.
The competition kicks off on December 21, with the group stage running until December 31. The knockout phase runs from January 3 until the showpiece match in Rabat on January 18.
United are set to turn to academy youngsters amid the impending AFCON crisis, with Amorim stating that the likes of Jack Fletcher and Shea Lacey are ‘ready to step up’.
They return to action on Thursday night at home against relegation strugglers West Ham before travelling to winless, bottom-of-the-table Wolves on the following Monday night.
