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Manchester United have plenty of players to keep an eye on away from Old Trafford this season, and Chido Obi has provided the latest positive update.

The 18-year-old scored twice for Willem II in a 2-0 friendly victory over Helmond Sport on Wednesday.

Andre Onana has also been doing very well at Trabzonspor, even with a few oddities thrown in along the way. Altay Bayindir, meanwhile, is having pretty much the opposite experience in Spain.

Obi gets his first Willem II goals

Chido Obi started because Devin Haen is away with the Netherlands U21s. The Manchester United youngster needed just over eight minutes to open the scoring.

Obi had another couple of opportunities before the break. One attempted chip was comfortably saved. He later shot wide when passing may have been the better option.

His second arrived three minutes after half-time. Calvin Twigt looked for him inside the box and a defender initially appeared ready to intercept. The ball got away from him and Obi reacted quickly, finishing for 2-0. He stayed on until the 68th minute.

Algemeen Dagblad give an interesting assessment of what Willem II have seen from him so far. They describe Obi as a striker who looks for opportunities inside the penalty area and runs behind defenders. His touch is also picked out as one of his strengths.

There’s work to do elsewhere of course. The report believes he needs to improve his intensity and pressing.

This was only a friendly, and Helmond Sport didn’t field their strongest team. Willem II, though, used a side largely made up of first-team regulars.

For Obi, it was another good step in a loan designed to get him regular senior football.

Onana doing very well – and undergoing bizarre treatment

Andre Onana

Andre Onana’s spell at Trabzonspor has been going very well on the pitch. The Manchester United goalkeeper has conceded just five goals in his first six Turkish league matches this season.

He’s also kept two clean sheets in two big occasions: Trabzonspor’s 4-0 victory over Galatasaray and their 5-0 win against Genclerbirligi. He’s been one of the big positives for the Turkish side so far, even with a few mishaps along the way.

His international situation is a little stranger though. Despite that form, Onana was left out of Cameroon’s latest squad and has therefore remained in Turkey during the international break… And that has produced perhaps the strangest loan update of the week.

Footage shared in Turkey shows Onana undergoing a rather bizarre-looking procedure, with dozens of cups covering his back, arms and hands. It’s called ‘fire cupping therapy’, in case you were wondering. That’s the kind of thing you send a player to Turkey for.

Whatever that’s supposed to achieve, there hasn’t been much wrong with his performances lately.

Bayindir’s situation is almost the complete opposite

Altay Bayindir hasn’t enjoyed anything like Onana’s involvement since joining Celta Vigo on loan. In fact, the Manchester United goalkeeper is still waiting to make his debut for the Spanish club.

Bayindir has gone into the international break without playing a single competitive minute this season.

Unlike Onana, though, that hasn’t cost him his place with his country. The 28-year-old travelled to Turkey to join up with the national team for their friendlies during the international break, despite his complete lack of club football.

It’s been an interesing start to the international break for Manchester United’s loan department.

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