Inter Milan’s Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana said he couldn’t resist playing for Manchester United next season in the Italian press on Wednesday as the transfer has yet to be made official .
“I am someone who is always looking for new challenges and playing in the Premier League for a club like United is irresistible,” the ex-Cameroonian international said in an interview with Italian daily La Gazzetta Dello Sport. “I’m going to play in a big league and for a big club that has a huge history, just like Inter,” continued Onana (27).
Andre Onana is set to sign with Manchester United for a reportedly €55m ($62m) deal, after joining Inter Milan last summer as a free agent, and competing with the club Italian in the Champions League final lost against Manchester City.
On the lawns of Old Trafford, he will join his former coach at Ajax Amsterdam Erik ten Hag, with whom he had played five seasons. “I’m really looking forward to starting this exciting new adventure with a coach who in my eyes is a maestro,” Onana said. In 2019, the Dutch coach took Ajax to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
At Inter, Onana was tipped as the successor to former captain Samir Handanovic, goalkeeper since 2012, whom he replaced as starter last season. Simone Inzaghi’s team will therefore have to find a new N.1, who will probably not have the 27-year-old’s ability to initiate actions thanks to his impressive ball control.
Dismissed by Cameroonian coach Rigobert Song during the last World Cup for disciplinary reasons, Onana ended his international career after 34 caps with the Indomitable Lions. He had also been banned for 12 months by UEFA in February 2021 after testing positive for a banned substance, a sanction which was later reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
