Erik ten Hag’s £47m signing in transfer talks to quit Man Utd for former club | Football

Andre Onana’s agents have reportedly opened discussions for the goalkeeper to leave Manchester United and return to his former club Inter Milan.

The 29-year-old joined United with weighty expectations on his shoulders in a transfer deal worth in the region of £47million back in July 2023.

Erik ten Hag had previously worked with Onana at Ajax and pushed United’s hierarchy to explore a bid to prise the Cameroon international away from the San Siro.

But in between the occasional flash of promise, Onana badly struggled to hit the heights expected of him across two error-strewn seasons between the sticks in English football.

Senne Lammens’ deadline-day switch from Royal Antwerp to United last summer threw Onana’s Old Trafford future into even further doubt – and the shot-stopper went on to join Trabzonspor on a season-long loan.

Determined to rebuild his reputation, Onana has since gone on to make 16 appearances in all competitions for Trabzonspor, who currently sit third in the Turkish Super Lig table.

According to Daily Mail Sport, Onana has not completely given up hope of reviving his United career. However, it is ‘expected’ he will leave on a permanent basis next summer.

It’s claimed Onana’s representatives have been in Milan to talk over various deals in recent days and the possibility of the Cameroonian rejoining Inter as a replacement for Yann Sommer has been raised.

Onana still has plenty of admirers at Inter having helped the club reach the final of the Champions League in 2022/23, where they suffered a painful defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

He was also part of a squad that lifted both the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup under Simone Inzaghi.

Onana still owns property in Milan which would remove one hurdle for the former Ajax man. However, the report adds that the player’s wage demands could be a potential ‘stumbling block’ for Inter in transfer negotiations.

There are still two-and-a-half years remaining on Onana’s current contract at the Theatre of Dreams.

Onana’s successor, Lammens, has enjoyed an encouraging start to his United career and produced a fine performance with the gloves as the Red Devils stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal at the weekend.

Asked what Michael Carrick had done to turn United’s fortunes around since replacing Ruben Amorim, Lammens replied: ‘I’m gonna be honest, there are not many special things he did. It’s just like sticking to the basics. 

‘Football is basics. If you do the basics well, then the quality of us comes out and I think we have players with the quality that can make the difference.

‘But if you just do the basics right, technically we’re standing right, defending good together. And just [playing] as a team, to be honest.

‘He made it really clear what he wants from us and what he expects from us. And I think today as well, on the pitch sometimes it didn’t really come out.

‘But if you fight as a team and if you keep believing in it, then you can still get the win.’

Given the extra ‘hard work’ the squad put in away from home, Lammens felt even more satisfaction from winning at Arsenal than beating Manchester City.

‘I think it was one of the better ones, better feelings of my career, to be honest. Away as well,’ Lammens added.

‘Whilst last week [against Manchester City] was at home, which is also really nice and really special, this one felt like a little bit more hard work. 

‘It wasn’t always the best play from us, but they are also games you have to win if you want to be at the top. So today we did that. 

‘I think just hard work, defending together, and then at the end, the subs like Matheus Cunha made a difference, and also, the people who come in give our team energy.

‘I think winning at Anfield and winning at Arsenal is always one of the more special ones, especially for me in my first season as well. 

‘So it’s something I really look forward to ‘ these big away games. And yeah, it’s really nice to win them both.’

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