Chelsea are considering opening a fresh round of discussions to bring Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana to the Premier League, according to reports.
Is Andre Onana leaving Inter Milan?
The Cameroon international still has another four years remaining on his contract at San Siro, but having made 24 Serie A starts from 38 games last season after sharing the gloves with Samir Handanovic who is the club’s captain, he could be looking to secure a move and establish himself as a prominent first-choice elsewhere.
The Athletic credited the Blues with an interest in the 27-year-old three years ago, so they have clearly been long-term admirers, but back in March, Gazzetta Dello Sport reported that they had knocked on his door only to be turned down by the player with Simone Inzaghi’s side also resisting the temptation to cash in.
However, Nizaar Kinsella, who is a journalist for Standard Sport, recently claimed that the shot-stopper is now “open to the move” so he must have had a change of heart, something which Mauricio Pochettino and Todd Boehly are considering capitalising on.
Are Chelsea signing Onana?
According to CaughtOffside, Chelsea could "discuss" Onana once again "in the coming days" when they hold talks with Inter regarding the future of Romelu Lukaku.
The Blues would be "open" to striking a deal for the goalkeeper, though it would likely mean players "moving in the other direction". Manchester United are also pushing to reach an agreement, but the SW6 outfit are not "out of the race" despite initially thinking his price tag of £50m was "too expensive".
Recent reports have suggested that Pochettino is happy to head into the 2023/24 season with Kepa Arrizabalaga as his number one, but with Edouard Mendy having completed a medical to join Al-Ahli, Chelsea’s manager will need a replacement to challenge the Spaniard and Onana could be just the goalkeeper he’s looking for.
Across all competitions last term, he kept 19 clean sheets from 41 appearances and in Serie A made 61 saves from 83 shots on target against, giving him a 73.5% save percentage – higher than both Kepa and Mendy.
Inter’s 6 foot 2 colossus also has a strong range of passing having successfully completed all of his 224 short passes and 98% of his medium length attempts, an attribute that has seen him hailed “exceptional with his feet” by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, so for such a well-rounded player, it would be a massive coup to secure his services.