Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has identified Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton as potential replacements for Andre Onana at Old Trafford. Ten Hag expressed his confidence in the goalkeeping options while addressing concerns about the possibility of losing Onana to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January and February.
While Onana’s participation in AFCON is yet to be officially confirmed, it appears likely that he will be called up to represent Cameroon in the tournament hosted in Ivory Coast. This potential call-up could see Onana miss up to six games for Manchester United if his national team advances to the AFCON final.
Despite this uncertainty, Ten Hag assured that the team is well-prepared with capable goalkeepers in Bayindir and Heaton. Speaking at a pre-match press conference before Manchester United’s fixture against West Ham, Ten Hag stated, “When he [Andre Onana] goes there [AFCON], we have a strong group of keepers with Bayindir and Tom Heaton, so we are comfortable. Of course, we hope Andre is available as much as possible, but if not, we have two good keepers who can replace him.”