New Man Utd issue immediately arises after Andre Onana agrees on transfer exit

It was supposed to be a signing that would revolutionise Manchester United. But a little over two years on from Andre Onana's arrival at Old Trafford, the Cameroon star is being ushered out the back door on loan.

Onana, 29, was signed at the peak of his powers after starring in Inter Milan's run to the Champions League final, where they eventually succumbed to United's bitter rivals, Manchester City. On paper, it looked a shrewd move: Onana was as proficient with his feet as he was with his hands and rated as one of Europe's best 'keepers. Unfortunately for United, football isn't played on paper and Onana has failed to live up to the lofty reputation he arrived with and is now poised to join Trabzonspor in an underwhelming loan move.

Nobody is disputing United's decision to move on from Onana, who has been consistently inconsistent since succeeding David de Gea in the Old Trafford goal. But the reality of doing so - and what comes next - now comes into focus.

Ruben Amorim did not select Onana for any of United's three league fixtures so far this season, with Altay Bayindir deputising. Senne Lammens, the promising young Belgium keeper, was signed in the final hours of the summer transfer window and will now compete for game time with Bayindir; but who will get the nod as United's No 1?

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As much as it was stressed that Lammens' arrival was not a surefire sign that Onana was on his way, the £18.2million deal to acquire the 23-year-old - who is widely regarded in Belgium as Thibaut Courtois' heir - effectively put Onana in no man's land.

Lammens is anticipated to blossom into a fine goalkeeper but United need a top keeper for the here and now rather than the future in the wake of Onana's failure to establish himself as the apex goalkeeper the club thought they had landed. That much has become crystal clear after watching Bayindir play in the team's opening Premier League fixtures.

The Turkey international is already being targeted by rivals for his inability to cope with set-pieces, which was exposed in the 1-0 loss to Arsenal in United's season opener. And while few - if any - would argue with Amorim's decision to axe Onana for Bayindir following the former's erratic displays in a Manchester United shirt, Bayindir has shown nothing to suggest he can relied upon as a dependable deputy in between the sticks.

All that means that Lammens is likely to be thrown in at the deep end; quite literally when you consider than United's next fixture is the Manchester derby.

In many ways, Onana never recovered from a shaky start to his Old Trafford tenure; he issued an apology just weeks after joining the club after failing to cover himself in glory in the 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. United will want to give Lammens, who they view as a player capable of growing into the No 1 role and becoming a mainstay for years to come, every chance of success. Whether that pathway involves a watching brief to begin with remains to be seen.

If anyone knows the score right now when it comes to the goalkeeper situation, it's Amorim. "It is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment," he said after watching another erratic performance from Bayindir in the 3-2 win over Burnley prior to the international break.

He's even been told that hecan’t play Bayindir again following his poor start to the season to by the former Chelsea midfielder, Craig Burley. But Onana's departure means he Amorim and United will have to throw their faith behind their No 2 and effectively make him their stand-in No 1, or throw Lemmens in at the deep end and hope he swims.

Neither option feels ideal given United are coming off their worst ever campaign in the Premier League era - even if choosing to axe Onana now is absolutely the right thing to do.

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