Manchester United are in with a very strong chance to sign Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The memorable images of the 2022 transfer window were the ones Manchester United would rather forget.
Technical director John Murtough and chief executive Richard Arnold were spotted in Spain, attempting to sway the deal to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona.
Murtough was then spotted flying out to negotiate, unsuccessfully, over a deal for Adrien Rabiot.
READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfers in, out, loans, releases, youth for 2023/24
Inter Milan chief jets in
It is very notable, then, that rather than Murtough flying out desperately to try and convince Inter Milan to do business for Andre Onana, the reverse situation is in play.
Calciomercato report Inter Milan director Piero Ausilio has flown into England to hold a meeting with Manchester United over Andre Onana.
This is a clear sign Inter Milan are ‘open for business’ and that this particular deal stands a very good chance to get done.
Naturally, this begs the question, ‘why are Inter Milan trying to sell their number one goalkeeper’?
It’s a valid query, which belongs in the context of Italian football’s financial problems. Inter signed Andre Onana on a free transfer a year ago, so landing a fee presents a substantial profit.
The figure of 50 million Euros has been quoted via Gazzetta dello Sport, equating to £42 million.
And then there are Inter’s own transfer plans to bake into the mix.
They are keen to sign Romelu Lukaku permanently, and Gazzetta report Inter need to sell Onana in order to fund the Belgian striker’s transfer.
There could also be pressure from Onana’s agents to do a deal. The goalkeeper’s representatives flew to Manchester for talks last week, Gianluca di Marzio reported.
United can double Onana’s weekly wage at Inter, and the player could well be keen on a move.
No agreement has been struck yet, but everything is pointing in the right direction.
It is a long way to fly from Italy to England simply to say, ‘he’s not for sale’.
