Fabrizio Romano rubbishes claims Manchester United could sign £85m ace

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Fabrizio Romano insists there is nothing in suggestions that Premier League Manchester United could look to replace Andre Onana with AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

The mere fact that Romano feels compelled to come out and discuss such rumours is, perhaps, testament to the difficult start Andre Onana has endured at Old Trafford.

The £47 million summer signing from Inter Milan looked to have turned a corner recently, outstanding since his last-gasp penalty save against FC Copenhagen. But with two high-profile blunders against Galatasaray – Onana almost single-handedly costing Manchester United their Champions League place – the phrase ‘one step forward, two steps back’ come to mind.

For now, however, there is nothing to suggest that Onana is already fighting for his Red Devils future. Erik ten Hag spoke out in glowing terms about the Cameroon international late last week, while Romano insists that reports linking fellow glovesman Mike Maignan with a move to Manchester are wide of the mark.

Andre Onana has Manchester United’s backing

“I wanted to start by clarifying some Manchester United transfer rumours involving a new goalkeeper signing, with some fans asking me about the reports linking them with AC Milan’s Mike Maignan,” Romano tells Caught Offside.

“Man United invested 55 million euros on Andre Onana in the summer. So there’s nothing else in terms of targets or negotiations. Zero.

“Man United are not working on a deal for Maignan and, also, the player is very happy at Milan. There’s really zero to this story at this stage.”

Mike Maignan was a target but no longer

According to The Athletic, representatives working on behalf of Manchester United travelled to Italy as Milan took on Inter in the Champions League semi-finals in the spring, discussing a deal for Onana while also sounding out Maignan too.

United quickly installed the former ahead of the latter in their pursuit of a David de Gea replacement, however, with the Rossoneri demanding nearly twice as much as Inter wanted for Onana. Maignan, arguably the best shot-stopper in the world last season, was valued by Milan at an eye-watering £85 million.