Rio Ferdinand fears Inter Milan’s valuation for Andre Onana could put off Manchester United this summer.
The former Manchester United centre-back is under the belief that the Cameroon international is the man to replace David de Gea at Old Trafford, but he fears a stumbling block for the deal could be Inter’s demands over a transfer fee.
It has been well documented that Erik ten Hag will have a restricted budget this summer – due to debt and loans imposed by the Glazer family, as well as mismanagement on the Financial Fair Play front.
De Gea’s contract expired on Friday at midnight, but there is no hardline deadline on that and he could yet agree fresh terms with the club and remain at Old Trafford.
But the media are reporting on Onana as one of Ten Hag’s primary targets and it would appear that the writing is on the wall for De Gea as far as his 12-year stint in Manchester is concerned.
Ferdinand has spoken highly of Onana after getting feedback from former United team-mate Edwin van der Sar, who knows the Cameroonian from his time at Ajax.
However, Ferdinand fears the only stumbling block over the transfer will be finances.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand revealed (as quoted by the Manchester Evening News): “The manager wants a new goalkeeper. If the club, which it looks like, have said ‘David, you’re done’ that’s fair enough. I don’t care about that, that’s fine, he’ll have to go and find himself a new club.
“Bigger and better players back in the day have been told to leave Man United, that’s fine. I think David will be okay. That’s cool, but there’s a way in which you do it.
“Moving on to who is coming to replace him, Onana 100 per cent. I went to watch him live in the Champions League semi-final and the confidence this boy has got.
“I spoke to Pep Guardiola in an interview days before the semi-final and he was talking about potentially playing against Onana. He was like ‘you’ve got to contend with this goalkeeper now, not many goalkeepers you’ve got to prepare for, we press high. Normally if you go back to the goalkeeper, we’ve done our job and that’s it, but this guy, he’s like an outfield player’.
“The confidence, he comes out playing on the edge of his box and almost on the edge of the centre circle, and he wants to be involved in the build-up. He’s a proper footballer.
“He’s a great shot-stopper. He made a couple of great saves in the final, but this guy is a young keeper, I’ve seen him at Ajax before that. Edwin van der Sar, I spoke to him numerous times about him before Man United’s interest and he waxed lyrical about him. He knew this is the prototype for a goalkeeper.
“I’d be delighted if he comes, but my priority is a number nine.
“I think they’re going to go for him, I think he’s going to be someone they’re going to try and get, but the problem is Inter Milan’s pricing and Man United ain’t got an open chequebook. It’s not like before when there was no FFP. There’s an amount of money that Man United have to spend, unless they start selling a multitude of players to bring that budget up.”
Let us know in the comments section if you think United will get a deal across the line for Onana this summer.
Get the latest Manchester United news, opinion, interviews and exclusive features with the Stretty Newsletter – Ad Free! Kick off your afternoon with the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.
