André Onana is a professional goalkeeper from Cameroon who has recently joined Manchester United from Inter Milan.
André became a prospect and, for some clubs, a top transfer option in the European football sphere after going on an amazing run in Serie A and the Champions League in 2022–23.
In the 2022–23 Serie A and Champions League seasons, he amassed impressive stats by making 62 saves out of 28 attempts for a save percentage of 72.6 and keeping 8 clean sheets out of 13 attempts for a save percentage of 61.5.
In addition, he received a silver medal for keeping the goalpost for Inter Milan to play in the Champions League finals the previous year. Manchester United was the favourite and the club that ultimately closed such a significant deal out of the many clubs that contacted him.
André Onana and Manchester United reached a personal agreement in July 2023 for him to join the team this summer. Both manager Erik Ten Hag and Manchester United’s Sporting Director Paul Mitchell were committed to the deal’s success.
The reported fee was in the neighbourhood of €50 million plus €5 million in extras. This was rumoured to be the sum agreed upon to complete the transfer from Inter Milan to Manchester United.
After several meetings at Old Trafford to discuss the contract details, Albert Botines of Goal Management, his agent, played a very important part in making the transfer happen.
In an interview with Manchester United, manager Erik Ten Hag explained why he kept pushing for the deal to be completed.
Erik Ten Hag disclosed, “I think with his physical presence and also with his personality, he is so keen on winning. He’s so, so eager to win trophies, and he will help the team and the squad to get to higher levels.”
Erik ten Hag, Onana’s former manager at Ajax Amsterdam, revealed some characteristics of his newly signed shot-stopper at Manchester United.
“Nowadays, football also demands good playing from the back, out-playing qualities, and that is a quality Andre has. You need both and you need to cover both areas. So yeah, we’re happy, of course,” Erik disseminated.
Manchester United’s board and Manager believe André is a good addition to the squad after the departure of David De Gea on a free transfer, and aligning André Onana with Erik’s strategy and game plan is the best fit.
Onana, the grandaunt of Samuel Eto’o’s football academy, stands 1.87 meters tall and has a strong right foot with high technical abilities, allowing him to contribute to a build-up play from the back. He also has a lot of experience. He participated in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League finals and won the Coppa Italia and the Suppercoppa Italian.
