Andre Onana reluctant to join Cameroon squad for Africa Cup of Nations

Andre Onana is reluctant to join up with the Cameroon squad for the Africa Cup of Nations with his sole focus on improving his Manchester United form.

Onana, 27, was dropped from the Cameroon side and sent home during last winter’s World Cup, announcing his retirement from international football a few weeks later. His return was in confirmed September after being called into the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi.

A 3-0 win in that game confirmed Cameroon’s place in January’s competition with the former Inter Milan shot stopper expected to be in their plans.

Onana’s Focus on Manchester United

But according to ESPN, Onana is not keen on leaving United and missing a month of Premier League action. The summer signing has endured a tough start to life at Old Trafford, making a calamitous error against Bayern Munich in United’s Champions League group opener against Bayern Munich. Onana was also at fault on Tuesday night against Galatasaray, with his poor pass out from the back resulting in the incident that saw Casemiro sent off with United going onto lose 3-2.

Onana is keen to focus on his club career and could be ready to sacrifice international commitments in the process. The £47.2million signing would potentially miss four matches in the New Year if Cameroon reach the latter stages of the tournament, missing games against Tottenham, Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa.

Manager’s Support for Onana

The goalkeeper, brought in as a long-term replacement for David de Gea, has been part of a defence that has conceded 18 goals in 10 games in all competitions but retains the full faith of his manager.

“We are happy with our goalkeeping group,” ten Hag said. “Andre was in one semifinal of the Champions League [with Ajax], he was in the final last season [with Inter] so he has capabilities to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he has shown that. We have already seen in games his great capabilities, also his personality. He will bounce back.”

United also signed Altay Bayindir in a £4m deal from Fenerbache in the summer with the Turkish goalkeeper still waiting for his debut.

Conclusion

Andre Onana is currently focused on improving his Manchester United form and is reluctant to join up with the Cameroon squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. The 27-year-old goalkeeper has endured a tough start to life at Old Trafford but still retains the full faith of his manager. Onana could potentially miss four matches in the New Year if Cameroon reach the latter stages of the tournament.

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