Man Utd ‘hold talks with agent’ as Erik ten Hag steps up £43m transfer pursuit

Erik ten Hag wants Man Utd to use FA Cup final defeat as motivation

Manchester United have held talks with the agent of Inter Milan star Andre Onana, according to reports. Erik ten Hag is growing increasingly likely to land a new goalkeeper this summer, with the future of David De Gea up in the air. And while Diogo Costa has been linked, the Red Devils appear to have a different priority on their radar instead.

Onana previously played under Ten Hag at Ajax, with the pair winning three league titles together during their spell in the Netherlands.

And Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has now claimed United have held talks with the goalkeeper’s agent in Manchester.

It’s claimed the agent in question went to speak to the Red Devils hierarchy about a potential move this summer.

The report says United will now sit down and decide what approach to take as they look to land a new shot-stopper.

But any deal won’t be cheap, with Inter keen to get £43million in return for their prized asset.

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The Serie A giants signed Onana last July on a free transfer, shortly after his contract at Ajax expired.

And that means the chance to make a significant profit following just 41 appearances for the club could be too tough to turn down.

United are in the market for a new No 1 amid uncertainty over De Gea’s future, with the 32-year-old’s situation still unclear.

Weeks ago, a new contract at Old Trafford seemed to be a formality.

But De Gea is yet to put pen to paper on an extension, meaning he could leave the club for nothing next Friday.

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United have publicly supported the Spain international, despite his clear issues with playing out from the back.

Yet, behind the scenes, Ten Hag is keen to bring in a goalkeeper more suited to his style of play.

De Gea would, in an ideal world, return to Spain.

But Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid don’t need a new goalkeeper, which means he could end up moving to Saudi Arabia instead.

Meanwhile, speaking recently, Dimitar Berbatov expressed a belief that either Onana or Mike Maignan would be a good replacement for De Gea.

“If David de Gea was to leave this summer, then I’d like them to sign either Andre Onana or AC Milan’s Mike Maignan,” said the Bulgarian.

“These two goalkeepers are unbelievable and Onana impressed everybody who was watching the Champions League final in regards to his composure on the ball and his passing ability.

“They will have to see what his availability’s like and as he impressed me so much, I would hope that Manchester United enquire about him.”

De Gea endured a torrid FA Cup final earlier in the month, struggling as United lost 2-1 to City.

Ten Hag shielded the 32-year-old from criticism by saying: “In this moment, I don’t want to talk about such issues of criticism because we played all a great season — including David De Gea, he played a fantastic season.”

He continued: “I have only one plan, that is to improve this club and to improve this team.

“I have my ideas and I already told the club what we have to do for that but I have to work with my staff, with my players to be better next season.

“It’s not about getting players in and they do well.

“It’s about we work all season and day by day to develop the team, progress the team.

“I’m very proud where we came from in the start of the season.”

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