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Manchester United are still actively working on a deal to bring Inter Milan keeper Andre Onana to the club, despite interest in Feyenoord’s Justin Bijlow and reports of FFP constraints.
This is the position of Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, who claim that a deal to bring the Cameroonian to Old Trafford is close, despite all the counterclaims circulating in both the British and Italian press yesterday.
United’s new director of football operations, David Harrison, has reportedly been in Ibiza trying to thrash out a deal for Onana with his counterpart at Inter, Piero Ausilio.
The Red Devils are said to be offering a deal worth €45 million plus €5 in variables, with Inter holding out for a €50m plus €10m in “not very complicated” variables.
Things seemed to be moving to a swift conclusion until yesterday, The Mirror ran a piece claiming United couldn’t afford the deal because of Financial Fair Play restrictions and that they had switched their attention to Bijlow and/or Eintracht Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp.
The interest in Bijlow was corroborated by The Athletic.
However, in this morning’s paper edition, Gazzetta insist that this is a side show and that the Onana deal is very much progressing.
“Back in Ibiza after being called back to Milan [to resolve Brozovic’s move to Al-Nassr], … Ausilio is waiting for tomorrow and the start of next week to define another hot Nerazzurri transfer,” the outlet reports.
“The contacts are constant .. there is no doubt about the desire to bring André home [to United], even if the names of less expensive options have been circulating…
“The preference for the Cameroonian is clear and André’s staff are trying to reach an agreement over salary.”
Gazzetta notes that Onana is earning €3 million a year at Inter and would reasonably expect to double that at Old Trafford, which would equate to £100,000 a week.
They then note that the difference in valuations remains an issue but say that “if we meet in the middle, everything should materialize”.
The article also claims that Inter have identified Onana’s replacement. After flirting with several names, including David Raya and Giorgi Mamardashvili, the Nerazzurri have fixed their sights on Shakhtar Donetsk’s Anatolij Trubin.
