Record transfer in the making? Erik ten Hag targeting a surprise reunion

Robin Bairner

• 23 Mar 2023 12:52 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United and Tottenham are ready to challenge Chelsea in the race for Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport .

Erik ten Hag sees the keeper, with whom he already worked at Ajax, as a good replacement for David de Gea.

The Spaniard has an expiring contract at Old Trafford and is one of the top earners. He will have to agree to a significant salary cut to allow for a longer stay at the club.

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Tottenham, meanwhile, see Onana as a possible successor to the 37-year-old Hugo Lloris.

According to the Italian newspaper, Inter want to ignore transfer talk and have no intention of selling.

The Cameroon international arrived from Ajax on a free transfer last summer, initially as a back-up behind Samir Handanovic. In the end, however, he rapidly won his place in the team. At the beginning of October, Onana took over from Handanovic and since then he has been a regular and is reportedly enjoying his time in Italy.

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At the same time, it could be difficult for Inter not to budge if a huge offer comes on the table – something in the region of €60-70 million.

With this, Onana, who is committed to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza until mid-2027, could become the most expensive Serie A goalkeeper of all time.

That record is currently still held by Alisson Becker, who left Roma for Liverpool for €62.5m in the summer of 2018.

Guglielmo Vicario, the current No.1 at Empoli, is seen as a potential replacement for the current goalkeeper of i Nerazzurri .

Ten Hag’s rocky Onana relationship

It is remarkable that Ten Hag's Manchester United are interested in Onana. He played seven-and-a-half years at Ajax, who signed him for €150,000 from Barcelona in 2015, before leaving last summer. He turned out 214 times for the Amsterdam club, keeping 85 clean sheets.

However, in February 2021, Onana was suspended for a year after a doping violation was established on October 30, 2020. In that year, the keeper demanded a hefty salary increase during the negotiations on the extension of his expiring contract – something Ajax refused to buckle to.

As a result, Onana hardly played for the club even after his suspension and he left for Milan on a free transfer last summer. Ten Hag, of course, was in charge throughout this period.

Last week, it was announced that Chelsea are interested in the keeper, with Edouard Mendy seeking to leave because the club made him a ‘disrespectful’ offer. He wanted to double his salary and earn the same as Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The Spaniard was signed from Athletic Club for €80m in 2018, making him the most expensive keeper ever, but Mendy has often been preferred over the past two seasons. AC Milan, Nice and Monaco would follow the situation closely.