A version of this article was originally published in December 2023.
GO DEEPER
Aston Villa in process of finalising agreement with Everton for Onana
Amadou Onana has a saying — or, to be more precise, a hashtag.
Take even a cursory glance at his social media and you’ll quickly come across it. It is a reminder of his past struggles and a mantra for his fledgling career.
#MakeThemShutUp
Onana looks like a top player in waiting. He turns 23 in August and has been an increasingly influential figure at Everton under Sean Dyche and was key pillar for Belgium at Euro 2024.
That gives the impression of a career on the rise, yet it has not all been plain sailing.
Where some players are marked out as potential stars from an early age, Onana’s story was initially one of rejection.
Born in Senegal, west Africa, he moved to Belgium with his parents at age 11 and was told, while in the academy at Zulte Waregem, that he would not make the grade.
Some of the feedback the 15-year-old Onana received was so brutal that he has used it as fuel ever since.
“It’s (the hashtag) my way of saying, ‘Look at me now’,” he tells The Athletic. “I’m the only one who believed in myself. Growing up as a young player, people doubted me, saying I wasn’t good enough and was never going to make it.
“They said (at Zulte), ‘I don’t even know why you want to go on trial to Hoffenheim if you’re not going to play here’. It’s crazy — why would you do that? As a teenager, it hurts because you’re not mature enough to understand certain aspects of life.
Onana gathers possession at Brentford (Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
“But I thought, ‘If it’s not working in Belgium, let me try somewhere else’. If you’re a Ferrari in a garage full of s***ty cars, you’re not going to run properly.
“My family would always tell me to work hard and believe in myself, which has brought me to where I am now. It’s just the beginning. I’ve not achieved anything yet and have got many more things to do in the game.”
The story of Onana’s ascent has been well told.
Underappreciated in Waregem, a trial at Hoffenheim in 2017 came about after his sister (and now agent) Melissa filmed his games and packaged them up to send to clubs across Europe.
At the time, Melissa was undergoing chemotherapy but the pair made the eight-hour train journey to central Germany for that trial and have not looked back since.
A speaker of five languages, including fluent English, Onana exudes confidence.
His 2022-23 debut season at Goodison Park was challenging, with the manager who helped sign him, Frank Lampard, departing in January and the team embroiled in a second relegation fight in as many years.
It was a bruising campaign for all associated with the club but Onana bears few scars. If anything, he may have proved the adage — what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Onana played a key role in Everton securing Premier League survival in the 2023-24 season (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
“I learned a lot about myself (in 2022-23); how I handle pressure from the fans, club, team-mates,” he says. “It helps you grow as a player and a person. Looking back now, I’m almost quite happy it happened because it’s part of a learning process.”
Everton eventually survived on the final day of the season thanks to a second-half goal from Abdoulaye Doucoure against Bournemouth.
There were moments during that May afternoon when, with fellow relegation candidates Leicester City ahead in their game against West Ham United, Dyche’s team were on course to go down. A late Bournemouth equaliser would also have condemned Everton to the second tier of the English game for the first time since the early 1950s.
Surely that sort of pressure weighs heavily for players?
“It’s tougher but I like games like that,” Onana says. “It’s maybe psychotic saying this but I enjoy playing games with pressure.
“Throughout (the 2022-23) season, I was saying in my head, ‘I can’t be part of the team that takes this massive club down to the Championship’. So it was tough but I don’t feel pressure because football is something I enjoy doing. It’s supposed to bring joy.
“Ronaldinho was my idol (growing up) as he played the game for the fans… for entertainment and he was someone I loved watching. Football is my main focus but I like to do things outside of it because I don’t think it’s healthy to think 24-7 about it.
“When I’m not happy, you’ll see it out there on the pitch. I won’t be performing. So I take it as easy as I can and don’t really put pressure on myself.”
Onana forces himself free of Lloyd Kelly on a tense final day in March 2023 (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
That resilience and ability to withstand pressure proved invaluable again last season.
Onana and his team-mates were eight points clear of the relegation zone and on a run of six wins in nine matches across all competitions before Everton’s 10-point deduction for a breach of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules, but they finished 15th in the table, 14 points clear of danger.
As for Onana’s own game, that appears to be heading in the right direction, too. He is playing regularly when fit and turning in more consistent performances, aided by a tactical switch that has seen him deployed in a more familiar deeper role.
By his admission, it is a position that suits him.
Onana is comfortable receiving possession deep and using his 6ft 4in (192cm) frame and footwork to progress it upfield. He can cover vast swathes of ground and shield the defence. Watch any highlights reel and you’ll see a player adept at using his body’s long levers to steal the ball from opponents homing in on the Everton goal.
“I’m growing within the team and, I’d say, performing well,” Onana says. “Just by playing games, my maturity and understanding is improving. I’m calmer on the ball. Last season, I took a bunch of stupid yellow cards, which is something I’ve been working on.
“It (playing deeper) definitely suits me and I think my performances have done the talking. I feel way more comfortable in that position and I’m enjoying it. But, in a very humble way, I feel I can do it all. I have abilities that allow me to feel comfortable in any position in midfield.
“I’ll take whatever role the gaffer gives me.”
Onana in action for Belgium against Austria in October (Guenther Iby/SEPA.Media /Getty Images)
Onana watches footage back as soon as he gets home from a match, then does it again the next day, “just to see what I can do better”. He is a keen student of the game and is constantly looking at where he can improve.
Dyche’s role has also been crucial.
Early in his tenure, a call was arranged between Onana and fellow Belgian midfielder Steven Defour, who had worked with Everton’s manager for three years at Burnley.
“It was simple and quick but helped a lot, because he’d played in the Premier League and had been in the game for so long,” Onana explains. “The manager said he wanted me to learn the ‘ugly side’ — those are his terms — and I’m getting more familiar with it. I’m improving there.
“There are more experienced players than me and players across the league I can learn a lot from. You can never learn enough. There’s always room for improvement.”
Onana shares a word with Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard (Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
It is the scope of that improvement, and the extent of how far Onana can potentially go, that excites most.
New Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco marked him out as a key figure in his rebuild of a squad laden with over-30s that dramatically ran out of gas in the group stage at last year’s World Cup, and Onana has already captained his country.
Captaincy is the kind of role that has long been mapped out for him. Everton’s own due diligence, before they splashed out around £30million ($37.4m at today’s exchange rate) to sign Onana from French club Lille, also identified him as a potential leader of the future.
“It’s just part of my personality to take responsibility; to show up when you have to and try and help team-mates, maybe with my voice or body language,” Onana says. “It’s more about performance, but I’m quite vocal as well.
“I’m huge. Look at me. Maybe you think, ‘I’m going to listen to this guy!’.
“For me, (it’s now) about growing even more in this team and trying to help as much as I can.”
Make them shut up — Onana is well on the way to doing just that.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
