Manchester United have made an approach to sign Everton midfielder Amadou Onana but Rio Ferdinand doesn’t seem convinced.
United have landed one midfielder this summer with Mason Mount completing a move from Chelsea.
Monday’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers wasn’t convincing though, especially in midfield.
Wolves were able to cut through the middle of the park far too easily as the triumvirate of Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount had some growing pains.
We could now see Donny van de Beek join Fred in leaving Old Trafford, potentially paving the way for a midfield addition.
Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat has been the top target but links to Everton ace Onana are ramping up.
Amadou Onana to Manchester United – the latest
The Daily Mail reported just last week that United have an interest in signing Everton midfielder Onana, but that he was considered too expensive.
There could be a twist now though as The Guardian claim that United have indeed launched an approach to sign Onana.
It’s noted that Everton would want at least £50million for Onana just a year since buying him for £33million from Lille.
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The Belgian impressed in his first Premier League campaign and Everton fear that it could be difficult to keep Onana if United’s interest grows.
The report adds that Erik ten Hag believes United need more heigh in midfield – something Onana can provide at 6ft 5in tall.
Rio Ferdinand reacts to Onana rumours
Onana has enormous potential given that he only turns 22 on Wednesday.
Whilst some may believe that Onana’s size lends itself to being a quality holding midfield, that would really limit his box-to-box abilities.
United fans may be excited by the Onana links but Rio Ferdinand really isn’t convinced right now.
Ferdinand has been speaking on FIVE about Onana and he made it clear that this isn’t a signing he would understand.
The former England international simply stated that the move is ‘not for me’ whilst highlighting that he’s not a holding midfielder or a destroyer in the middle of the park.
Ferdinand believes that Onana isn’t clean enough on the ball to play in an Erik ten Hag team.
Ferdinand also likened Onana to Marouane Fellaini, believing that he has ‘unbelievable’ attributes but just isn’t suited for United.
“Not for me, that,” said Ferdinand, who was stunned upon hearing a claim that Onana would be an upgrade on Scott McTominay. “Onana is not a holder, he’s not a destroyer.”
“That’s not Ten Hag to me, Ten Hag is about playing, playing through the lines, playing off angles. I think he has really good attributes, but I don’t think for Manchester United. That’s like Fellaini. That’s like buying Fellaini for Manchester United. Fellaini had unbelievable attributes, not for Manchester United. Is he more effective than Fellaini? No, he’s not.”
“He’s got good attributes; he’s athletic, I think he could be more like Fellaini, get into the box more and score, I think he could do that but he’s not clean enough,” he added.