Andre Onana’s long-awaited fresh start in Turkey quickly became a night to forget. The Cameroon goalkeeper, eager to escape two turbulent years at Manchester United, joined Trabzonspor on loan hoping to rediscover the form that once made him one of Europe’s most admired shot-stoppers.

But under the floodlights of the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, the script felt painfully familiar. After producing a superb initial save, Onana inadvertently palmed the rebound straight into the path of Youssef En-Nesyri, who calmly slotted home what proved to be the match-winner. Fenerbahçe celebrated; Trabzonspor slipped to third place in the Süper Lig, and Onana’s redemption arc hit an early snag.

The 29-year-old’s move came after a bruising spell at Old Trafford. Signed from Inter Milan for £47.2 million, he faced relentless scrutiny in England and eventually lost his starting spot to Altay Bayındır following a hamstring injury. United’s subsequent capture of Belgian keeper Senne Lammens signaled the end, with manager Ruben Amorim admitting that Onana needed a “new environment to regain confidence.”

Despite Amorim’s praise for his work ethic, the pressure and expectations in Manchester proved heavy. Trabzonspor offered a calmer stage, but his first outing showed the same cracks—moments of brilliance undone by a lapse in decision-making.

His only previous match this season had been a penalty-shootout loss to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, and the latest misstep only fuels questions about whether the ex-Ajax star can halt a once-bright career’s decline. Onana now faces the challenge of proving that a single costly error will not define his Turkish chapter.