Cristiano Ronaldo’s club, Al-Nassr, have made an attempt to sign top Manchester United transfer target Andre Onana.
With United goalkeeper David de Gea’s future still uncertain following the expiry of his contract, the Red Devils have held talks with Inter Milan over signing Onana, who boss Erik ten Hag worked with while at former side Ajax. But as Mirror Football reported last Saturday, the 27-year-old Cameroonian has been deemed too expensive by United chiefs because of his £60million price tag.
Ten Hag only has limited funds to spend this summer before player sales, with nearly half of the anticipated £120million he has available being splurged on Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount, who underwent a medical on Monday. Cash-strapped Inter are keen to sell Onana, as they hope to finance a deal for Romelu Lukaku.
Their predicament has prompted Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr to enter the race, aiming to make Onana the latest high-profile player to move to Saudi Arabia this summer. The Saudi club have confirmed their interest and the goalkeeper’s representatives were notified, as first reported by Italian publication Calciomercato.
Al-Nassr signing Onana would see Ten Hag miss out on his first-choice target to replace De Gea, who remains in discussions with United over a new deal, but is edging closer to the exit door after 12 years.
However, despite the chance to be Ronaldo’s team-mate, Onana currently isn’t sure about a move to Saudi Arabia, having just enjoyed an outstanding season with the Nerazzurri.
Ronaldo and Ten Hag of course have history, as the pair fell out during the first half of last season which led to the Portuguese megastar swapping Manchester for the Saudi capital of Riyadh. In an infamous interview with Piers Morgan, days before the Red Devils took the decision to terminate his contract, Ronaldo claimed that Ten Hag and the United hierarchy were forcing him out.
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“I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me,” the five-time Ballon d’Or winner added. “If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
There’d be even more bad blood between the pair if Ronaldo was able to convince Onana to become his team-mate, although Ten Hag already has a backup plan – two in fact. Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp has emerged as a name on his shortlist, just like Feyenoord shot-stopper Justin Bjlow.
Both would be a lot cheaper to sign than Onana and, as of now, are more attainable.
It’s added in the aforementioned report that Red Devils officials recently met with their Inter counterparts in Ibiza, although they’re yet to lodge a formal offer due to the Serie A side’s £60m valuation.
Ten Hag faces a race against time to find his No.1 goalkeeper for the 2023-24 season, with United’s Premier League campaign getting underway on Monday, August 14 at home to Wolves.
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