The transfer sagas of Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund have moved along at a snail’s pace. Doesn’t everything that involves Manchester United these days? The front office leadership of this club is so egregiously indecisive; at all times. (See the lack of sales, which we covered in the second of our two part MUFC transfer talk today) However, it looks like there is some optimism for closure on both Onana and Hojlund very soon.
One being likely yes and the other, probably being no. Let’s start with the affirmative, and that’s Onana, the Inter Milan and Cameroon goalkeeper.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, in a tweet he made a few minutes ago, negotiations between the two teams remains ongoing and there is optimism that a deal could be struck soon. That’s the more conservative reporting on the situation right now.
The bolder report comes from Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla, of TV Dello Sport. You can see that in the tweet below:
? | #mufc and Inter Milan have a meeting later today. Inter expects to close the Andre Onana deal by tomorrow for a figure less than €55m, but the final details are still being discussed. [@AlfredoPedulla] pic.twitter.com/mEaNsP8EJz
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) July 13, 2023
Elsewhere, the Manchester Evening News reports the club submitting a bid worth an initial £42m plus £5m in add-ons. That £47m sum is also being reported by another journalist with Dello Sport. So there is probably some fire here, not just smoke.
Manager Erik ten Hag has been insisting on getting an Onana deal done for some time, and there have been rumors running round for some time that we’d have a deal done by Friday- that’s tomorrow. So we’ll see.
Speaking of former Ten Hag players at Ajax, United forward Antony sing the praises of Andre Onana:
“I know him very well, we played together at Ajax,” he was quoted in Italian media outlets.
“He’s a great goalkeeper and a nice person. It’s not up to me to say [whether we should sign him], because it’s a club decision. I can only say that he’s definitely very strong.”
Again, it’s not “Here We Go” time yet, but maybe down the line. While United egregiously overpaid for Antony last summer, there is hope that they won’t do the same again for Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund. Look at this price tag set by the Serie A side, according to The Athletic.
For a guy who only scored nine goals and registered just two assists in 32 appearances? No thanks!
??| Atalanta have placed a £85.5M price on Rasmus Hojlund.
[@lauriewhitwell] pic.twitter.com/kIrBIonXu3
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) July 13, 2023
But it is understandable here Atalanta is coming from on this one. Their Head of Senior Recruitment is Lee Congerton, who dealt Harry Maguire to United from Leicester City for £80M in 2019.
So no doubt, he thinks he can fleece them again. United have been offering cash+players to the Italian club, even pitching one idea that would involve Mason Greenwood going the other way out on loan. However, all they want is the money, no package deals.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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