Manchester United have signed goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan for a fee of around €50 million ($56.1m). David de Gea‘s 12-year spell at Old Trafford came to an end earlier this month when he opted to leave on a free transfer, but how will the 27-year-old Onana fare as a replacement?
ESPN brings you all you need to know about the former Cameroon international.
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Early career and info
Onana was spotted playing on the streets of Cameroon’s capital city Yaounde by a member of the Samuel Eto’o Foundation — the charity set up by the country’s all-time top scorer and former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward. He was signed by Barcelona at age 14 and played in the Blaugrana‘s La Masia youth academy, where he became the No. 1 goalkeeper at his age group.
Developing his technical and physical skills during his time in Catalonia, the 6-foot-2 stopper became comfortable with the ball at his feet — playing out from the back and transitioning play well — to become a standout at under-19 level. But with a desire for regular first-team football, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen a fixture between the posts for the senior side, he decided to make the switch to Ajax in 2015, making his debut in 2016-17 season.
At Ajax he met manager Erik ten Hag, who arrived at the Johan Cruijff Arena in 2017. With his years at La Masia behind him, the Cameroon star proved to be a perfect fit for Ten Hag’s possession-based style of play. In total, he made 214 appearances and picked up a hat trick of Eredivisie titles, as well as two Dutch cups, while he helped guide Ajax to the semifinals of the Champions League in 2019.
A nine-month ban for a doping violation, which Onana said was down to accidentally taking a medicine meant for his girlfriend, saw his career stall in 2021. But he returned to action in November and helped Cameroon to a third-placed finish at the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.
He opted not to extend his Ajax contract and signed for Inter on a free transfer in the summer of 2022, but controversy was not far away again as he quit international football in December after being sent home from the World Cup in Qatar after a disagreement over tactics.
Onana established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe and shone in the 2022-23 Champions League, helping Inter to the final where they narrowly lost out 1-0 to Manchester City. He conceded only 36 goals in 41 games at Inter, keeping 19 clean sheets.
