Man Utd REJECTED by target

Tom Weber

• 25 Jul 2023 10:48 CDT
• 3 min read

Zion Suzuki has rebuffed Manchester United's approaches, according to Japanese media.

The American-born Japanese goalkeeper became the subject of shock links to the Red Devils before they completed the signing of Andre Onana for €52.5 million from Inter.

Suzuki is a one-time senior international, but he has mostly been a bit-part player for Urawa Reds in recent times, hence the surprise about his potential move. He featured prominently in the early stages of the 2021/22 Asian Champions League, but the latter rounds - which only concluded in recent months - saw him drop back down to the bench as Urawa upset Saudi giants Al-Hilal to claim their third ACL title.

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The links to United weren't just baseless rumours, however. There was concrete interest and Fabrizio Romano even claimed that United could still sign Suzuki despite the arrival of Onana, with the 20-year-old then acting as back-up. With the sale of Dean Henderson seemingly imminent, United want to bring in another shot-stopper.

Indeed, talks with Suzuki appear to have been ongoing until recently, but reports in Japan now suggest that he has made his final decision.

Suzuki wants to fight for his place

According to Sponichi Annex, Suzuki has turned down the chance to move to United, despite "being shaken by the interest from one of the world's leading mega clubs."

This he did because he wants to get game time under his belt ahead of the Paris Olympics. He is determined to fight for his place in Saitama and supplant 37-year-old club legend Shusaku Nishikawa, or to move to a club where he is guaranteed consistent minutes.

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Belgian side Sint-Truiden, who have signed scores of Asian players since being taken over by Japanese company DMM.com, have also expressed an interest in signing Suzuki, whose release clause is reportedly just £5m.