Manchester United 'preparing new Andre Onana bid as Javier Zanetti hints at exit'

Manchester United are reportedly planning to make a 'new verbal bid' for Andre Onana, with the Red Devils having their first offer for the Inter Milan goalkeeper turned down.

David de Gea's contract at Old Trafford expired on June 30, and while it is still possible that the Spaniard could return to Old Trafford, the 20-time English champions appear to be pushing to bring in Onana as their new number one goalkeeper.

According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Man United's opening bid for the former Cameroon international, which was worth €40m (£34.1m) plus €5m (£4.3m) add-ons, was rejected.

Romano claims that the English outfit are now preparing to launch a new and improved offer, as they attempt to agree a fee with the Italian giants.

Onana has also been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in recent days, but the goalkeeper has allegedly made it clear to all parties that he wants to move to Old Trafford during this summer's transfer window.

© Reuters

Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti refused to rule out a summer departure for the 27-year-old when questioned on the speculation surrounding his future.

"When you have important players it's normal that there are requests, but for now Onana is one of our players and we hope to keep all the important ones," he told TuttoMercatoWeb.

"The transfer market has just begun, anything can change, but Inter have always shown themselves at the top when building important teams."

Onana made the move to San Siro from Ajax last summer, and he impressed for Inter during the 2022-23 campaign, featuring on 41 occasions in all competitions, keeping 19 clean sheets in the process.

© Reuters

The Cameroonian played a leading role in his side's run to the final of the Champions League, keeping eight clean sheets in 13 appearances in the competition.

Onana, who played under Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag at Ajax, is thought to be valued by Inter in the region of €60m (£51.4m), which is a price that Man United are unlikely to meet.

There is thought to be room for negotiation, though, with the 20-time English champions looking to make Onana their second summer signing after Mason Mount.

As it stands, there are only two first-team goalkeepers at Old Trafford, with Dean Henderson returning from a loan spell at Nottingham Forest and Tom Heaton recently signing an extension.

Henderson is in discussions over a permanent move to Forest, though, while Heaton is not regarded to be a number one, so the club are currently in the market for a new first-choice stopper, which could still end up being De Gea for the 2023-24 campaign.