Manchester United officially announced the £1.5 million loan of Onana on Friday. They refused to let him serve as a backup, and it is expected that he will eventually leave for free.

Manchester United will begin preseason training on July 9, and Andre Onana's departure will be officially announced before that, avoiding a return to Carrington. The 30-year-old Cameroonian goalkeeper has confirmed he will continue his loan spell at Turkish club Trabzonspor. 90% of the deal is complete, and only the official announcement is pending. Trabzonspor club president Ertuğrul Doğan stated, "We expect Onana's transfer to be fully completed within one to two days."

According to the Daily Mail, Onana has already signed the loan documents, and both Manchester United and Trabzonspor are finalizing the remaining procedures over the next 24 hours. Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said, "Onana's loan from Manchester United to Trabzonspor was officially signed after the deal was reported last week. The loan lasts one year, with a maximum fee of £1.3 million depending on performance. There is no buy or compulsory purchase clause. Onana will return to Manchester United in one year. Trabzonspor will cover most of his wages."

Turkish media reported that Onana returned to Trabzonspor last week to negotiate the loan and quickly reached an agreement. He will join Trabzonspor's training camp directly in the coming week, rather than awkwardly returning to Manchester United's Carrington training ground.

Manchester United decided not to bring Onana back to compete with Sena Lammers. Even if Altay Bayındır leaves, United would rather find a new backup goalkeeper. It is believed that Onana's £120,000 weekly wage and outgoing personality would make it difficult to keep him on the bench.

Ten Hag has long determined that Onana is not part of Manchester United's plans for next season. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS management team wanted to permanently sell Onana, but the €55 million (£47 million) signing from Inter Milan left a financial hole that is now impossible to fill.

Clubs capable of signing Onana have no interest in him; teams that want him cannot afford a high price. Onana, who owns a house in the suburbs of Manchester, still hoped to stay. After a wave of marketing efforts, Manchester United gave up completely and accepted sending him on loan again—at least saving part of his wages.

Reports reveal that Trabzonspor will pay a €1.5 million (£1.3 million) loan fee for Onana and cover most of his wages. After Manchester United returned to the Champions League, Onana’s basic weekly salary increased to £120,000, totaling £6 million per season. According to The Athletic, Trabzonspor will not cover 100% of his wages.

Trabzonspor is expected to cover 75% of the wages, with the remainder paid in the form of a loan fee. Although the total amount is the same, the loan fee is paid in one lump sum, while wages can be paid in installments.

Manchester United would need to sell Onana for €22 million to avoid a financial loss on the books. The club wanted to sell him, but the only interested party, Trabzonspor, insisted on a loan deal, and the Red Devils had to accept.

Onana’s contract still has two years remaining. Manchester United has prepared for the worst-case scenario: that he will still be unsellable after returning next year, and will only leave on a free transfer when his contract expires in 2028. The new loan deal with Trabzonspor still has no buyout clause. Of course, Ratcliffe and his team hope Onana performs well in the Turkish league, attracting other clubs to buy him for €10 million next year.

But this wishful thinking is unlikely to come true. Onana has become one of the disappointing signings of the Ten Hag era at Manchester United. It is reported that Ten Hag had a heated argument with goalkeeping scout Tony Coton over Onana’s transfer. Ten Hag wanted Coton to evaluate Onana, but Coton believed his opinion didn’t matter, as the club was determined to sign the goalkeeper regardless.

When Onana joined, he came with the reputation of helping Inter Milan reach the Champions League final and earning praise from Pep Guardiola. The British media hyped him as a "revolutionary goalkeeper" for Manchester United, criticizing former goalkeeper David de Gea for not being comfortable with playing out from the back, which supposedly hindered Ten Hag’s tactical philosophy. In the end, it all turned into a joke. Inter Milan was the only winner—they signed Onana for free from Ajax and sold him for half a hundred million euros a year later!