How Joshua Zirkzee’s Manchester United revival can be the blueprint for calamity keeper Andre Onana

If Andre Onana needed a guide on the road to redemption at Manchester United, he need look no further than Joshua Zirkzee.

Onana is under the microscope again after his blunders in Lyon cost United a Europa League first-leg advantage.

Sources close to the Cameroon goalkeeper insisted on Friday night he is a strong character who has overcome tough times at United before and is focused on playing well for the club.

But Ruben Amorim is believed to be considering taking him out of the firing line at Newcastle tomorrow and playing his

No2 goalkeeper Altay Bayindir instead following the 29-year-old’s shaky performance in France.

Onana was at fault for failing to keep out Thiago Almada’s free-kick and then spilled a shot from Georges Mikautadze in the dying seconds to allow Rayan Cherki to equalise after Zirkzee thought he had won it with a late header.

He can be an example to Andre Onana after the keeper’s horrendous run of poor form

Amorim said afterwards that he still has confidence in Onana, and Zirkzee insisted the rest of the players are firmly behind him as well.

‘One hundred per cent,’ said the Dutchman. ‘We’re one team, so we’re not going to take someone out for making mistakes. That’s ridiculous.

‘To draw in this way is always a little bit, I don’t want to say frustrating, but it hurts for it to go this way. But we just have to focus on the next game and that’s Newcastle away. And then we all know what we have to do when we face Lyon again at home next week.’

Axing Onana would be a huge decision for Amorim. But Zirkzee knows more than anyone that his manager is not afraid to make a big call for the good of the team, even if it can be the most painful of experiences for the player.

United head for Tyneside on Sunday to face in-form Newcastle for the first time since Zirkzee reached his lowest point at United over Christmas. He was substituted by Kobbie Mainoo in the 33rd minute to cheers from the Old Trafford crowd and ran straight down the tunnel on the verge of tears. The 23-year-old has bounced back from that humiliation, with his goal at the Groupama Stadium on Thursday night the latest step in his recovery.

United’s £36.5million summer signing from Bologna also came up with a key goal away to Real Sociedad in the last round of the Europa League, as well as scoring against Leicester and converting the decisive penalty in the FA Cup third-round shootout win at Arsenal.

Amorim praised Zirkzee for having the character to recover and is also delighted to see the response from United fans who have made amends by helping the player regain his confidence.

‘Yes, he’s doing a great job,’ said the United boss. ‘But also a very important thing was the way the fans reacted after that incident. Even if Josh is not playing, you see every time he gets on the pitch or is just warming up our fans sing the Josh song. That is massive for the boy.

Onana spilled a shot in the dying stages to allow Rayan Cherki to score for Lyon in the 2-2 draw, having also been at fault for the French side’s opener

Zirkzee insists the Man United dressing room are fully behind team-mate Onana

‘So it’s 50-50 — 50 per cent the fans and 50 per cent on the part of Josh.’ Asked what he has done to help Zirkzee, Amorim added: ‘The same thing. I explained the situation. As a former player, I wanted to hear some explanation from the coaches on that. I just want to help the team.

‘And then work with him, all the work that all the staff is doing with him and he is

improving, and then put it into play. This is the only way to show confidence in him.’

Now Amorim must make an equally difficult call over Onana, having stuck with his goalkeeper up to this point.

Onana could be dropped for Man United’s trip to Newcastle on Sunday afternoon 

The United boss is expected to make a number of changes at Newcastle but was reluctant to say how much he will rotate his squad ahead of the second leg against Lyon.

‘When you are playing for Manchester United, you cannot go to the game thinking about the next one,’ added Amorim. ‘So we are going to face this one and then we have three days.

‘There is a great responsibility. We don’t have a team that is really big and then we have players that I know cannot make 90 minutes in this moment, we have to be really careful. We have to face Newcastle with a team that we can be competitive to win the game.’

Meanwhile, United are looking into allegations that their fans were tear-gassed by French police. The club are said to be gathering facts to establish a clear picture of what happened during the quarter-final first leg.