Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana has reportedly decided he is not going to AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) when he originally planned to as the Cameroonian shot-stopper is now set tomiss his country’s opener this weekend.
Onana was due to fly to the Ivory Coast in time for the tournament’s start and Cameroon’s first match against Guinea on Saturday, 13 January but, according toiSport, he has now decided to remain with Man United for a key Premier League meeting with Spurs on Sunday.
The outlet claims that the 27-year-old is wary of losing his place to backup keeper, Altay Bayindir, and is instead focusing on shoring up his position after a somewhat shaky start to life at Old Trafford.
Bayindir is still yet to make a single appearance for United since joining in September 2023, with Onana also remaining in goal for the FA Cup win over Wigan but was expected to get his first run out in the no.24’s absence. However, it is now looking like he could potentially be waiting even longer.
Sources close to Onana have assured he has been given the green light by Cameroon’s FA — headed up by footballing legend Samuel Eto’o — to miss the opening game, but there is apparently a possibility that he might not feature in it whatsoever.
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Not only is pretty rare for a nation to change the player between the posts in the middle of a major international tournament but given the number one’s tumultuous past with his team’s head coach, Rigobert Song, skipping even one game could prove problematic.
Onana technically retired from international football in December 2022 after continuously clashing with Song over the team’s tactics and playing style, being sent home from the Qatar World Cup and then retiring at the age of just 26.
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He issued an emotional statement following what he stated was an enforced exclusion.
Onana ultimately came out of retirement late last year due to the “expectation and support of Cameroonians”, but those in and around the national team set-up insist that just because he has returned to the fold doesn’t mean that he and the manager have patched things up.
Nevertheless, were the five-time AFCON winners (the second-most successful nation of all time) to go out in the group stages, it would mean the former Ajax and Inter Milan keeper wouldn’t have to miss a single minute for United as their next game after Spurs isn’t until 27 January.
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Given he has remained a bit of an unknown quantity, many fans would have also been keen to see how his Turkish stand-in performed when given a few games, but plenty will argue that the last thing Onana needs is dropping out of the team and having to regain his form at club level.
What about you, Reds — would you like the opportunity to see what Bayindir is made of or are you hoping Onana stays home?
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
10th January 2024 
