Manchester United are supposedly hopeful of reaching an agreement to sign Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana within the next 72 hours.
Erik ten Hag has identified his former Ajax number one as his number one choice to replace David de Gea, whose exit on a free transfer was confirmed at the weekend.
The Red Devils have accelerated their efforts to bring Onana to the Theatre of Dreams over the past week, and they are believed to have lodged an opening bid of £38.5m, which was rejected by Inter.
Nevertheless, Man United are said to be “really close” to striking a deal with the Nerazzurri, and Onana is rumoured to have already agreed personal terms with the Red Devils.
Now, a report from Gazzetta dello Sport – via The Mirror – claims that Man United are aiming to shake hands on a fee with Inter at some point before Onana is due to report back for pre-season on July 13.
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The Italian outlet states that the Red Devils are hoping to pay €50m (£42.9m) to sign the ex-Cameroon international, but a separate report from Sky Sports News challenges those claims.
With Onana still contracted to Simone Inzaghi’s side for another four years, Inter have supposedly set an asking price of €60m (£51.4m) and are refusing to relent on their stance.
Nevertheless, there is said to be a “willingness” from all parties involved to get a deal over the line at some point this week, and Onana has made it clear that he wants to reunite with Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
The former Barcelona starlet was Ten Hag’s undisputed number one in Amsterdam, before he was hit with a nine-month suspension in early 2021 for a failed doping test.
Onana subsequently left Ajax alongside Ten Hag last summer, joining Inter Milan on a free transfer, and he quickly reignited his career in Italy with 19 clean sheets from 41 games in his debut season.
The 27-year-old recorded eight shut-outs in the Champions League as Inter lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the final, while also winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana with the Nerazzurri.
Onana was signed by Inter as a long-term successor to Samir Handanovic, who was bumped down to second choice last season and became a free agent at the end of June, but the Slovenian is yet to make a firm decision on his future.
Either way, Inter are scoping out possible replacements for Onana and are apparently looking at Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris and Bayern Munich’s Yann Sommer, but they might face competition from Paris Saint-Germain for the former.
As well as Onana, Man United are also rumoured to be tracking Urawa Red Diamonds goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, as Dean Henderson is expected to depart permanently alongside De Gea.
The Red Devils travel to Oslo on Wednesday for their first pre-season friendly against Leeds United, where new signing Mason Mount could make his first appearance for the club.
