With every passing day of the transfer window, social media is buzzing with transfer news and rumors. Manchester United had a successful first season under the reign of Erik Ten Hag, by finishing third in the Premier League and ending the club’s trophy drought by winning the EFL Cup. With the departure of long-time goalkeeper David de Gea, the club hierarchy have their sights on replacing him with Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Despite a heartbreaking end to the season where they lost to their arch-rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final, the United supporters stand behind the Dutchman. Even before an official announcement, the Cameron international has publicly outlined his ambitions for the upcoming season.
Andre Onana shares goal of winning UCL at Man Utd
After a fortnight of negotiations, the two clubs reached an agreement for the transfer of the Cameroon international for a fee of $57 million, with $4 million in potential add-ons. Renowned football journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Andre Onana’s medical is scheduled on Wednesday, and he has signed a contract until 2028 with an option for an additional year at Manchester United.
Andre Onana tells Gazzetta: “I want and I hope to win the Champions League at Manchester United”. 🔴🇨🇲
“I really want to start this new exciting experience, with a coach who is a master for me”. pic.twitter.com/mVjQPfHZHM
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 19, 2023
During an interview with Gazzetta, the 27-year-old expressed his high ambitions and also talked about working with his former Ajax manager. He said “I want and I hope to win the Champions League at Manchester United. I want to start this new exciting experience, with a coach who is a master for me.” He added “There is a great tradition of goalkeepers there [at United], from Schmeichel to Van der Sar to De Gea. Yes, being chosen to continue this tradition makes me proud and responsible: I want to win trophies with my new companions.”
Andre Onana was crucial to leading Inter Milan into the UCL final last year
In the summer of 2022, Inter Milan officially announced the signing of the Cameroon international on a five-year contract, following his end of a seven-and-a-half-year stint with Ajax. In his debut season at the Italian club, the goalkeeper won the Supercoppa Italiana and the Coppa Italia before facing defeat in the Champions League final against Guardiola’s Manchester City.
During their remarkable Champions League run, the 27-year-old goalkeeper recorded 8 clean sheets out of 13 possible matches. In Serie A, the Cameroon star displayed exceptional passing accuracy, completing 100 percent of his passes under 15 yards and 98 percent under 30 yards. He played an integral role in guiding the Italian giants to the Champions League final. Ahead of the final, Pep Guardiola had some optimistic words about the goalkeeper. He said, “They [Inter] have a real good process, starting from Onana, an exceptional goalkeeper in the build-up – one of the best in the world right now.”
https://youtu.be/OSevFFxO65o
Erik Ten Hag has always wanted a sweeper-keeper, who is more adaptable to the possession-based gameplay which he prefers to implement. With the arrival of Andre Onana, there is going to be an upgrade defensively for the Red Devils in the upcoming season.
