Manchester United's pursuit of a new goalkeeper is set to face stubborn resistance from Inter Milan.
After finally confirming the signing of Mason Mount from Chelsea for £60 million, manager Erik ten Hag has turned his attention to bringing a new world class keeper to Old Trafford. And with David de Gea's contract having been allowed to expire, Inter No 1 Andre Osana is his primary target.
But the two clubs are reportedly in disagreement over the valuation of the Cameroon international. The Champions League finalists want around £50 million for the stopper, some £10 million more than United were intending to bid.
The Premier League side are keen to negotiate a compromise, given that Onana, 27, fits the mould of a footballing keeper than Ten Hag favours. But Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio has now issues a stern warning to United, implying that Onana will remain in Italy unless demands are met.
"Right now Onana is Inter's goalkeeper," he said. "He's one of the strengths of the team and with strong players we'd like to move forward. If opportunities arise, we'll evaluate them, but to date they haven't arrived or they don't meet our expectations."
Inter start their pre-season next week, and Ausilio said as things stood, the player would be joining up with his teammates on that date: “In this moment he’s our goalkeeper and Andre is key player for us - we’d like to keep him, then we’ll see what happens," he added. "We wait for him on July 13 for pre season."
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Ten Hag faces a race against time if he's to get the deal done before his side play their first game this summer. United are scheduled to take on Leeds in Oslo on July 12, before playing Lyon at Murrayfield seven days later.
But the Inter club chief didn't speak with such authority when it came to discussing another of his stars of last season. Romelu Lukau is almost certain not to return to parent club Chelsea next season, having spent a year back at Inter on loan.
"We know he can't be taken for a second year on loan and therefore we are evaluating if there are the possibilities of taking him on a permanent basis," said Ausilio. "He knows very well that we would like to bring him back here, let's see if we can find a solution with Chelsea."
