Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic revealed the backstory behind Manchester United’s deal with Inter for goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The 27-year-old Cameroonian shot stopper left the Nerazzurri for the Red Devils last week, penning a five-year contract with the Premier League giants.
He shined during his debut season in the Lombardy capital and his €55m sale to Manchester United represents a huge capital gain for Inter, considering that he arrived on a free transfer.
The Athletic’s Whitwell details how everything started when agent Yalcin Sarica had a phone call with Manchester United coach Ten Hag, discussing Inter full back Denzel Dumfries.
During this conversation, Onana was mentioned, immediately interesting the Dutch coach, who worked with the goalkeeper for over four years at Ajax.
Needing to replace David de Gea, Manchester United also explored a move for Mike Maignan and met with Milan’s directors during their Champions League semi-final derby with Inter, but deemed the Frenchman too expensive, pushing them to consider alternatives.
Talks between Inter and the Red Devils were not simple and various parties were involved in the process, but as the €70m asking price dropped things moved forward and eventually a final deal was agreed for €51m plus €4m in add-ons.