Romano: Amorim made ‘internal decision’ to offload United star so that his new signing would be more comfortable

It had been reiterated on numerous occasions throughout the summer that United would not be signing a new goalkeeper unless Onana was sold, yet they never took any formal steps to facilitate his exit despite interest from AS Monaco and teams in Saudi Arabia.

Alas, it raised eyebrows when United sanctioned the arrival of shot-stopper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day, leaving Ruben Amorim with four players in his goalkeeping contingent: Onana, Lammens, Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton.

Keen to avoid his new recruit feeling pressured by the number of counterparts watching his every move, Amorim opted to push for Onana’s departure, even if only for the campaign ahead.

Why Amorim decided to part ways with Onana

Fabrizio Romano said of the situation: “This is a decision by Ruben Amorim. He wanted to clarify this situation. He said that internally, having four goalkeepers, including a ‘keeper like Onana being on the bench, was going to be a problem.

“Maybe it could be a source of pressure for Senne Lammens. So everyone at Man United agreed on the possibility of sending Onana on loan, giving him the chance to start on a regular basis.”

Lammens’ earliest opportunity to make his debut will be this Sunday in the first instalment of the Manchester derby this term.

United travel to the Etihad to lock horns with their arch-rivals, who are on the back ot two consecutive defeats at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion.