A mere twenty-four hours before Cameroon’s opening Africa Cup of Nations match, Manchester United takes on Tottenham at Old Trafford.

It has been claimed that Manchester United hopes to start their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with Andre Onana in goal against Tottenham Hotspur on January 14. That match takes place just 24 hours before Cameroon’s campaign begins.

Following a falling out with head coach Rigobert Song, Onana was confirmed to be a full member of the Cameroon national team when he was included in the official 27-man squad that was revealed last week. Although the goalie had just played for his nation, it was never made apparent if he was participating in the midseason competition.

This week, Premier League teams were required to release their players for the AFCON. The competition begins on January 13. In order to be available for Monday’s FA Cup third-round match at Wigan Athletic, Onana has postponed his travel.

According to a claim published in The Daily Mail, United is attempting to postpone their goalkeeper’s departure even longer. They also mention that the team is in negotiations with Cameroon to see if they can get their first-choice goalie to play one more game. If the club and the nation reach a consensus, Onana would play between the posts for United until approximately 6.30 p.m. on Sunday. After that, he will go by air for seven hours to the Ivory Coast, where Cameroon would play Guinea at 5:00 p.m.

Even as recently as December 23, Erik ten Hag’s remarks regarding Onana’s participation in AFCON remained ambiguous. He responded, “We have discussed it but I am very comfortable,” when pressed on the matter. You are aware of the rules if they call him, but I am unable to respond to your inquiry at this time.

Because Sofyan Amrabat has been called up to represent Morocco, he will also be missing from United for the competition. They are predicted to advance far in the competition, which ends on February 11, along with Cameroon.