BREAKTHROUGH! Man Utd close to Onana transfer

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 7 Jul 2023 02:39 CDT
• 4 min read

Manchester United and Inter are close to an agreement on the transfer of Andre Onana, De Telegraaf reports.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper has already agreed personal terms with Erik ten Hag's club and appears to be gearing up to move.

Man Utd will pay around €55 million to bring the Cameroon shot-stopper to the club.

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A five-year contract with the option of an additional year has already been primed for Onana, who is an old acquaintance of Ten Hag. The pair previously worked successfully together at Ajax.

Meanwhile, David de Gea increasingly looks likely to leave Man Utd after failing to agree a new contract.

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Man Utd and Inter are close to reaching an agreement on Andre Onana's transfer fee 🔜 pic.twitter.com/BKx8lUWQ9a

— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 7, 2023

United will reflect on this deal as a victory, having reduced Inter’s initial asking price, which was set at €60 million.

They have worked hard at the negotiations, having previously tabled bids worth €45 and €50m. These were both rejected by the Serie A side.

Onana moving towards United

Onana joined Barcelona at the age of 14, but never managed to break through to the first team.

In 2015, Ajax signed the goalkeeper from Barca. In Amsterdam, Onana grew into the undisputed No.1 and played a total of 214 games for the club, keeping 85 clean sheets.

Due to a doping ban, the 34-time international was unable to play for a year from February 2021. After his suspension, Remko Pasveer was given preference and Onana ended up on the bench. He decided not to extend his contract and signed with Inter on a free transfer until the summer of 2027 last summer.

There, the goalkeeper immediately became a crowd favourite in his first season. Onana managed to displace Samir Handanovic from the starting line-up in October and has since played 41 games for the Serie A side, in which he kept his goal clean 19 times.

In Milan, talks have already started with Shakhtar Donetsk about Anatoliy Turbin and with Bayern Munich’s Yann Sommer, both of whom are seen as possible successors.

With the approaching agreement on Onana, Justin Bijlow’s move to Man Utd suddenly seems a lot more uncertain.

Just like the former Ajax player, the 25-year-old goalkeeper of Feyenoord was in the picture to succeed De Gea and was considered a much more affordable alternative, as the Rotterdam club had an asking price of around €20m.