Ten Hag Comments On Andre Onana’s 2023 AFCON Drama And His Meeting With Ratcliffe

The manager of Manchester United, Erik ten Hag has confirmed that the club’s Cameroonian goalkeeper, Andre Onana, will be available for the FA Cup third-round game against Wigan Athletic.

The FA Cup game will take place on Monday, January 8, five days before the commencement of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and Andre Onana was expected to be with Cameroon since January 2.

Naija News has reported that Onana is most likely to join the Cameroon national team on January 14, after featuring in Manchester United’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur.

This means that the former Inter Milan goalkeeper will not be available in Ivory Coast when the 2023 AFCON officially commences on January 13.

This also means that Andre Onana will be in Ivory Coast less than 24 hours to when Cameroon will play their AFCON opener against Guinea on January 15.

Ahead of United’s FA Cup game against Wigan, coach Erik ten Hag revealed that United bought Onana from Inter Milan last summer when the 27-year-old goalkeeper had retired from international football.

Recall that Onana was forced out of the Cameroon national team during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after clashing with the team’s management.

Afterward, he was banned from the team which consequently forced him to retire from international football.

However, months after joining United, Andre Onana announced his return to the Cameroon national team, a development that seems to run contrary to his initial discussion with United, according to coach Ten Hag.

“It was an issue during the talks with Andre when he came in here,” Ten Hag said. “The talks are constructive and we will see.”

On his meeting with the part owner of Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Erik ten Hag said: “It was very positive. We had a long meeting, and for many hours we sat together, on many issues we were on the same page. It was a very constructive meeting and we’re looking forward to working with each other.”