€50m Man Utd deal off: Delighted star leaves Red Devils with transfer headache

Manchester United have been told that Andre Onana will be sent back to them at the end of his loan move from Trabzonspor.

The Turkish side have gone on the record to confirm that they will not pay the Red Devils’ €45-50 million asking price for the Cameroon international goalkeeper.

Onana is said to be unmoved by Trabzonspor’s rejection, with all the indications being that he wants to return to Man Utd and challenge to become first choice with Senne Lammens.

Trabzonspor can’t afford Onana

“As the figure from Manchester United for the purchase of Andre Onana is in the range of €45-50m, our president has sincerely informed the community in line with Trabzonspor’s realities,” president Zeyyat Kafkas told Gunebakis.

“I don’t think this information affected Onana at all. Because Onana’s thinking is that if it’s not England, he wants to continue at a club in Europe.

“His family thinks the same way. The president also wanted to explain Trabzonspor’s reality. However, if the conditions change, the situation changes.”

Dramatic change of plan required

United will be forced into a dramatic change of plan with Onana, though it is unlikely to be significant enough to make him seriously consider remaining with Trabzonspor permanently.

While the Old Trafford club have successfully achieved the sales of Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund after loan moves to Barcelona and Napoli, this pair have been sold for significantly below their true valuations. Man Utd have missed out on around €25m with these deals.

But the Red Devils have swung dramatically in the opposite direction with Onana.

The Old Trafford side have attempted to recoup much of the €50.2m they paid Inter Milan for the goalkeeper, yet his status has fallen so dramatically that this appears an impossible task.

Onana’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) currently stands at €16m – far below the price that they want from Trabzonspor.

The Turkish side were never likely to be able to afford such a fee. Indeed, their most expensive signing stands at the €6.9m they paid for striker Majeed Waris from Spartak Moscow back in 2014.

Onana a looming problem

Onana, therefore, promises to be a major summer headache for the Old Trafford side.

Lammens is well installed as Man Utd’s preferred option in goal, and even a managerial change is unlikely to change this given the erratic form of the former Ajax keeper in his two years in England.

United are likely going to have to accept a bid more in line with Onana’s current valuation or face having a goalkeeper with a €5.6m per year contract spending the season on the bench.

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