Andre Onana is now ‘one step away’ from joining Manchester United with Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League veteran Hugo Lloris a candidate to replace him at Inter Milan.
Ironically enough, a man seemingly handpicked by Erik ten Hag to help further his possession-based principles at Old Trafford could be replaced at San Siro by a man who’s distribution has long been a source of frustration in the Northern quarter of the capital.
Spurs’ Hugo Lloris, like United’s David de Gea, looks increasingly like a man out of time. An analogue goalkeeper in a digital age.
And as Manchester United close in on Andre Onana – Sport Mediaset report that a move to Old Trafford is now just ‘one step away’ – Tottenham are also on the verge of signing modern, ball-playing ‘sweeper-keeper’ from Italy’s top flight. Guglielmo Vicario should join from Empoli in a £17 million deal.
READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfers in, out, loans, releases, youth for 2023/24
Tottenham could help Manchester United land a new goalkeeper
Vicario’s impending arrival at Tottenham, meanwhile, brings an end to over a decade as Spurs’ number one for 36-year-old Hugo Lloris. The World Cup winner will become a free-agent in 2024, but could bring his departure forward 12 months.
Inter’s chief executive Beppe Marotta, meanwhile, wants an ‘experienced and low-cost’ goalkeeper to take Onana’s place between the sticks at San Siro. Lloris certainly ticks both of those boxes.
Much to the disappointment of former Nerazzuri glovesman Sebastien Frey, cash-strapped Inter will not stand in Onana’s way should Manchester United stump up a fee in the region of £42 million for the Cameroon international.
“Football today is different than it was in my generation,” Sebastien Frey, who spent three years at the Nerazzuri between 1998 and 2001, tells Goal.
“(Former president Massimo) Moratti’s Inter could afford to keep a player regardless of the size of an offer. Now, there are other needs to think about.
“But if it just depended on me, I would keep him. It’s difficult to find a great goalkeeper. If they want to win trophies, then they should keep him.
“Unfortunately, I think they’ll let him leave.”
Onana honed his talents in Barcelona’s fabled La Masia academy. A fact which may go some way to explaining why the former Ajax ace – dubbed ‘masterful’ by Ten Hag during their time together in Amsterdam – is so supremely confident with the ball at his feet.
Onana’s agent was in Manchester last week for talks, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
