Man United plan to agree ‘Antony-style’ deal for another of their big-name stars
Andre Onana was one of several players Manchester United loaned out in the summer transfer window.
Man United fans called for Onana to leave following several poor displays since arriving at Old Trafford from Inter Milan for £47.2million in the summer of 2023.
Onana joined Trabzonspor on a season-long loan deal in September after losing his place in Ruben Amorim’s side.
However, Trabzonspor don’t hold an option to sign the Cameroon international permanently, meaning he will return to Man United next summer unless a deal can be struck with the Turkish side.
Man United facing Andre Onana ‘problem’
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Man United will be hoping to recover some of the transfer fee they paid to sign Onana like they have done with Antony.
Antony joined Real Betis permanently over the summer after the Spanish club agreed to pay £21.7m, with Amorim’s side receiving a 50 per cent sell-on clause as part of the deal.
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Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Onana’s situation, Borson said: “This is just a common problem for players on big wages. It’s not a new problem. But if you buy a player that’s on big wages that fails or largely fails, then that asset becomes a liability.
“You’re in a position where you’ve either got to give those players away, you’ve got to subsidise the transactions or you’ve got to try and find a structure that allows you to try in certain events to get some upside and get some recovery.
“A good example is the Antony deal with Betis. There is still a possibility that United can recover a really big chunk of what they paid for him. It might take two or three years, it might never happen, but at least they’ve got some kind of possibility, and that’s all you can do.
“These are damage limitation situations. They’re reflected in all teams. There’s no team that has got none of these issues. You have just got to do the best you can do.”
Man United signed Antony for £81m from Ajax in the summer of 2022, but he failed to live up to his price tag at Old Trafford.
Who did Man United loan out alongside Andre Onana?
Onana was one of several players Man United sent out on loan over the summer.
Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona, with the Spanish giants holding the option to purchase the England international for around £30m next summer.
Jadon Sancho secured a temporary switch to Aston Villa ahead of his contract expiring at Old Trafford in June 2026.
Meanwhile, Rasmus Hojlund made the move to Napoli, who will sign the striker permanently for £38m next summer.
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