The departure of David de Gea from Manchester United was a prolonged saga last season, with the long-serving goalkeeper becoming an error-prone liability in the latter stages of his time at the club.
The final nail in the coffin came when an error from de Gea in June's FA Cup final was the difference between United and arch rivals Manchester City.
There was something of a reception for de Gea ahead of United's final home game of the season, as he picked up the Premier League's Golden Glove award, but his departure was not finalised until early July.
This meant that de Gea never got the chance to properly bid the club farewell after 11 years of service - though sensational reports this week suggest that he may not have played his last game for Manchester United.
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Report: Manchester United lining up short-term David de Gea return
The man tasked with replacing David de Gea at Old Trafford was Cameroon 'keeper Andre Onana, who starred for Inter Milan on their run to the Champions League final last year.
Onana's first few months with Manchester United, however, seemed to be following the same error-prone route as his predecessor, and massive mistakes from the ex-Ajax and Inter man cost the team in both of their two opening Champions League games.
Fans will hope that Tuesday night's game against Copenhagen is a sign that Onana has finally started to turn things around. His last-minute penalty save ensured three points for United, after an impressive performance in which he made several strong saves.
MAN UTD'S ANDRÉ ONANA SAVES JORDAN LARSSON'S LAST-MINUTE PENALTY 🇨🇲😱#UCL pic.twitter.com/I91qmTqACY
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 24, 2023
It looks as though the Onana that Manchester United signed during the summer may have finally arrived at Old Trafford - but his return to action with Cameroon after an acrimonious hiatus is likely to massively disrupt United's season.
Cameroon have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, set to take place in January and February of next year in Ivory Coast.
Though the tournament will overlap somewhat with the Premier League's winter break, it is guaranteed to leave Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag without his first-choice keeper for a crucial stretch of the season - and reports suggest that a short-term return for David de Gea is a possibility to paper over those cracks.
Neil Custis of the Sun suggests that United are set to turn to de Gea on a short-term basis, after turning their back on the Spaniard last summer. Despite the club also acquiring Turkish keeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce during the transfer window, it seems as though United want some more experience between the sticks, and could offer de Gea a route back to the club.
Andre Onana had been out of action with Cameroon when he arrived at Manchester United, after leaving the World Cup under contentious circumstances last year due to a fall-out with the head coach. His return to representing his country has taken the club by surprise, and is seemingly the reason behind them pushing for a David de Gea reunion.
This would certainly be one of football's most unexpected
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