Andre Onana determined to take Man Utd No.1 spot back from Senne Lammens after Trabzonspor loan ends

Onana spent two years at Manchester United but his time at the club was littered with high-profile mistakes that drew plenty of criticism of the goalkeeper. He secured a loan move to Trabzonspor after United opted to bring in Lammens in the summer from Royal Antwerp. Onana's loan does not include a purchase option, which means he is due back in Manchester at the end of the season. In the meantime, Lammens has forced his way into the first team at Manchester United and established himself as the team's No.1 with a string of impressive performances for the Red Devils.

Onana may be away from Manchester United this season, but he has not given up hope of reigniting his career with the Red Devils. According to The Guardian, the stopper wants to fight for the No.1 spot when he returns and believes he will be given the chance to do so.

Yet he faces a tough challenge in dislodging Lammens as first choice. The Belgian was voted Man of the Match last time out as United beat Everton 1-0 and drew praise from manager Michael Carrick after the game.

Carrick told reporters: "For me a goalkeeper has to be reliable, be trustworthy. Instead of creating a chaos, you want him to take the chaos away and calm things down. I think Senne does that."

Everton manager David Moyes was also impressed with the goalkeeper's performance, adding: "The goalie was bloody brilliant. The save he made from Michael Keane, the way he dealt with the corners. We hoped somewhere we'd have got... one of them with the pressure we had in those situations. I thought we would get one, but we didn't. For me he was the best player on the pitch."

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has attempted to explain why Onana failed at the club. He told The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet: "I worked with Andre Onana for three or four years at Ajax. He came in as a third-choice goalkeeper and was very eager to step up and become the first choice. I thought, and I still think, that he has tremendous qualities – reflections and his feet – but somehow, he has the odd mistake in him that makes you think 'That’s crazy, how can he do that'.

"A team wants stability, to know what your goalkeeper is doing so the back four can relate and I think that’s what happened [the issue] with André. Manchester United haven’t had stability for the last six or seven years – the back four changing, the centre-halves and midfielders changing, coaches changing – so, it’s difficult for new players to come into an environment where the expectations are high, not only for goalkeepers but also for a winger or midfielder. A lot of players who have come here in the last eight or nine years have not reached the level that people expected them to reach.  

"I absolutely thought that he [André] would succeed when he first came here. As I said, I worked with him and saw him at Ajax, he did well in Italy and played in a Champions League final, so I thought it was a match made in heaven."

Onana has been a regular fixture in the Trabzonspor side that sit third in the table in Turkey. He has put in some good performances over the campaign so far, being labelled 'The Wall' for an impressing showing against Eyupsor. Meanwhile, former Royal Antwerp keeper Lammens will be aiming to go from strength to strength at United. 

He already looks an astute bit of transfer business by Manchester United and has admitted he's been thrilled to hear fans comparing him to club legend Peter Schmeichel. He told BBC Sport: "I'm not Schmeichel in disguise. I am just Senne Lammens trying to help the team. It is an amazing compliment to get but you have to be realistic. He is one of the best goalkeepers ever. I have to prove a lot more to be in the same conversation as him."