ONANA HEADS TO AFCON ON PRIVATE JET TO LINK UP WITH CAMEROON
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Andre Onana flew straight to the Africa Cup of Nations last night after Manchester United played Tottenham at Old Trafford – with less than a day to make it to Cameroon’s tournament opener.
The United goalkeeper delayed flying out to AFCON in Ivory Coast so he could play in the critical Premier League clash with Spurs, which finished 2-2.
United battled to a draw in front of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was in attendance at Old Trafford for the first time since his £1.3billion investment in the club was announced.
And as fans filtered out of Old Trafford at around 7.30pm, Onana faced a quick turnaround as he began the 4,800-mile journey from Manchester on a private jet ahead of Cameroon’s AFCON opener against Guinea on Monday.
The 27-year-old posted a picture of him on a plane at 12am on social networking platform Snapchat.
It is understood that Cameroon intend Onana to be on the bench for the Group C clash in Yamoussoukro, which kicks off at 6pm GMT, following his seven-hour flight.
His distant cousin Fabrice Ondoa, who plays in the French third division, is expected to take the gloves for the match.
Cameroon, managed by former Liverpool and West Ham player Rigobert Song, will face Guinea, Senegal, and Gambia in their group.
Senegal are the defending champions after winning the tournament for the first time by defeating Egypt the last time it was held.
Onana missed Cameroon’s warm-up game against Zambia to play in the 2-0 FA Cup third-round win over Wigan last week.
The fact that United fought so hard to get him to stay and play against Wigan sends a dispiriting message to United number two Altay Bayindir.
It is possible Onana might not miss any United matches during his time at AFCON. Cameroon’s final group game against Gambia is on January 23, and If Rigobert Song’s side are eliminated, Onana could feasibly be back for the fourth round of the FA Cup.
United have been drawn to play either Eastleigh or Newport away on Sunday, January 28 at 4:30pm.
If Cameroon go all the way to the final on February 11, Onana could be absent for up to four matches. United play Wolves away on February 1, before a home clash with West Ham on February 4 and a tough trip to Aston Villa a week later.
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