are close to reaching a full agreement with Italian giants Inter over a £47million deal for goalkeeper , according to reports.
The Red Devils have been locked in talks with their Serie A counterparts for several weeks, with manager desperate to bring in a new number one following David de Gea’s departure.
United had asked the long-serving Spaniard to after his contract expired in the event they could not agree a deal for Onana, but he ultimately decided to announce his exit last Saturday after 12 years at Old Trafford.
Officials from United have been in Milan for several days negotiating a deal for the 27-year-old and now is reporting that the transfer is close to being completed.
After previous offers were rejected – the first of which was worth £41m – United have now submitted a ‘final verbal proposal’ that is expected to be accepted by Inter.
The deal is worth €50m (£42.7m) plus a further €5m (£4.3m) in add-ons and the two clubs are now discussing the structure of those payments.
When that has been agreed, the transfer can be announced with Onana – who played under Ten Hag at Ajax – .
Inter had initially wanted to receive a fee in the region of £51m for the Cameroonian shot-stopper, but United have eventually managed to haggle them down.
Onana is expected to sign a four-year deal plus the option for a fifth – a contract format United have favoured in recent years – and the Red Devils are confident he will be signed in plenty of time to fly with the squad for their pre-season tour of the United States.
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi intimated that the Champions League finalists – who arrived last summer on a free transfer – and has even outlined what he is looking for in a replacement.
Speaking on Wednesday, he said: ‘He’s an Inter player, tomorrow [Thursday] he’ll be among the players called up for pre-season. We know the transfer window is unpredictable and that all Italian clubs have to sell before they can buy.
‘We know there’s this risk [that he leaves] but at the same time, I’m calm about it all because the club and the owners have reassured me that this year we’ll have a competitive Inter.’
On what he’s looking for in a replacement, he continued: ‘The goalkeeper will have to be technically good, so together with the club we’re looking to find not just one but somebody else too.
‘Over the last couple of years at Inter, first with Samir [Handanovic] and then with Onana, we were able to count on goalkeepers who were very good with their feet. In my last year at Lazio too I had Pepe Reina, so the goalkeeper will definitely have to have that skillset.’
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