According to a former chief scout of Manchester United, the club is willing to accept an offer for André Onana before the transfer window closes. Mike Brown, who served as the chief scout during United's most successful era for over a decade and still maintains good relations with the club, confirmed to "Football Insider" that Amrabat wants to replace the 29-year-old Cameroonian goalkeeper with a new signing.
Before the first round of the Premier League, Onana recovered from injury, but Amrabat excluded him from the squad list, citing that he only took part in three full team training sessions. If someone shows interest in Onana and offers a satisfactory price before the summer transfer window closes on September 1, the club will accept it.
Mike Brown said, "Manchester United still wants to sell Onana. The rumors inside the club give me the impression that they believe Onana is not good enough to fit the style Amrabat wants. If an offer comes in late in the transfer window, United will be happy to consider it."
He added, "Ideally, they should have sold him early in the window and then moved to bring in a replacement. But they failed to do so, missing out on Emiliano Martínez, and Donnarumma seems likely to join Manchester City if he transfers. However, United will make plans because they still want to upgrade the goalkeeper position. I don’t know if anyone is currently interested in Onana; we just have to wait and see what happens, but it’s true they are open to offers."
It is said that Manchester United hopes to sell Onana for £35 million, which is significantly lower than the £47 million spent to bring him in, but this still seems almost impossible to achieve. Recent English media rumors suggest Onana's former club Inter Milan is interested in re-signing him, but Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says there is no chance.
Romano stated, "Let me deny the English media reports about Onana, which mentioned he might return to Inter, possibly on loan. That’s not true. Onana accepted Amrabat’s decision not to include him in the squad for the Premier League opener against Arsenal, citing his recent recovery from injury. Of course, Onana wasn’t injured. That’s what Amrabat said, but at the same time, Onana still needs to regain his best form, so he accepted the decision."
According to Romano, Onana has no intention of leaving Manchester United: "Onana has not called Inter to ask to return, nor has he made any move to leave United. The last transfer contact was in late May or early June with a Saudi Arabian professional club, and there has been no news since. This matter has had no progress so far."
After the turmoil caused by Rashford, Garnacho, Sancho, Antony, and Tyrell Malacia — known as the "Five Mice" at Manchester United — Amrabat now does not want to fall out with Onana. He repeatedly emphasized that the selection in the first round was only because Baindill and Tom Heaton were fitter, not because Onana was discarded.
There are reports that Amrabat plans to start Onana in the Premier League away match against Fulham on Sunday. "talkSPORT" reported that both Manchester United and Amrabat expect Onana to stay with the team next season, and to maintain a good working relationship, he is likely to be included in the starting lineup on Sunday.
Alex Crook from talkSPORT stated that sources within Manchester United insist that, based on internal club data, Onana’s performance is better than most Premier League goalkeepers.
Of course, if such data truly exists, it contrasts sharply with public perception, but perhaps it also explains why the Red Devils have consistently ended up signing the wrong players over the years.