Andre Onana has been left out of Cameroon’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in another huge blow for the struggling Manchester United flop.
Onana, on loan at Turkish side Trabzonspor after being shipped out by Ruben Amorim in the transfer window, was a notable absentee from the team announced by Cameroon on Monday.
The 29-year-old’s omission comes as a huge surprise as he had been expected to feature for his country at the tournament in Morocco, which begins on December 21.
United forward Bryan Mbeumo and Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, who has been linked with a big-money move to Old Trafford, are the Premier League stars selected by Cameroon.
The squad announcement came on the same day the Cameroon Football Federation, led by former Barcelona and Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o, sacked manager Marc Brys with just three weeks until their AFCON opener against Gabon. He has been replaced by David Pagou.
Onana has been capped 53 times by Cameroon and played the full 90 minutes in their 1-0 defeat by DR Congo in a World Cup qualifying semi-final in November, which ended their chance of securing a place at next year’s tournament.
He has made 10 appearances for Trabzonspor since his loan move from Man United, keeping three clean sheets.
Onana had been United’s No.1 since joining the club from Inter Milan for £47.2million two years ago, but endured a difficult career at Old Trafford.
He lost his place to Altay Bayindir for the first three Premier Leagues of the season after suffering a hamstring injury early in the summer, and was allowed to leave for Turkey on a season-long loan once United signed Senne Lammens from Antwerp.
Amorim in September suggested Onana will benefit from a fresh start in Turkey, and suggested that he found it hard to handle the intense scrutiny of being United keeper.
‘We saw Andre had a very, very good season in Inter,’ said Amorim. ‘The quality is there, but we are in the club sometimes, in the moment, things are getting harder and harder. And you can be really experienced. But in this club, the pressure is sometimes so hard on every detail. Sometimes you need a change.
‘I think we understood that he needed a change. Sometimes it’s hard to point why. It’s the performance, the moments. The bad luck in some moments was hard on him, and it was hard on us. Our thinking is to have a change in the goalkeepers.
‘I wish the best for Andre. He was really good at working, trying to help the players. Sometimes you can have all the quality in the world, but sometimes you need to change the environment to return to your level. That was a feeling, not just from us, but also from Andre.’
Onana’s only appearance of the season came in the embarrassing Carabao Cup defeat by Grimsby on penalties.
United are pushing for Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui – set to be named by Ivory Coast and Morocco in their respective squads – to delay their departure to the tournament.
Competition regulations force clubs to release their players two weeks before their first game but Amorim is hoping to keep the trio until at least the visit of Bournemouth on December 15. It comes amid injuries to Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, who both missed United’s last two matches.
Mbeumo, Amad and Mazraoui could be ruled out of up to eight Premier League games and an FA Cup third-round tie if they are not granted permission to remain at United before heading to Morocco.
Morocco open the tournament on December 21, while Ivory Coast play Mozambique on the same day as Cameroon’s clash with Gabon.
