Man Utd hold crunch talks on £47m transfer as Fabrizio Romano offers major update and Ten Hag confirms shock back-up plan

Manchester United will on Thursday hold “crucial” talks over the transfer of Andre Onana, though Erik ten Hag has already made clear his club’s back-up plan should a transfer fail to materialise.

The Red Devils are very much in the market for a new goalkeeper after bidding farewell to David De Gea. The long-serving Spaniard confirmed over the weekend that his time at Old Trafford was over in an emotional goodbye. After 12 seasons in the United goal, replacing him will be a crucial element in the Ten Hag rebuilding programme.

To that end, United have honed in on the signing of Inter keeper Onana. The Cameroon international is regarded as one of the world’s best in his position. As a result, Inter have no intentions of letting him go on the cheap.

Indeed, amid a double seal of approval over the deal on Tuesday evening, it was claimed Onana had been told to prepare for the move.

United, though, know they are going to have to dig deep to get a deal over the line. Their initial offer of €40m (£34.3m) was quickly batted away by Inter Milan.

And with the Champions League finalists insistent, a deal in the region of €55m (£47m) is likely to be required.

Still, United are not quite there yet and the payment structure, together with how much of the fee will be made up of bonuses, are still to be agreed.

Providing an update on the saga, Fabrizio Romano claims crucial talks are pencilled to take place on Thursday.

“Each side wants this deal to be done, but Inter wants their money and Man Utd don’t want to overpay,” Romano told his YouTube channel.

READ MORE: The 10 most expensive goalkeeper transfers of all time: Onana to come in at No 3

Fabrizio Romano update on Man Utd talks for Onana

“All parties feel the deal will happen, because Manchester United say goodbye to De Gea and they have Onana as their top target. They are very close to matching what Inter want,” he continued.

“Inter too are ready to sell. They are already working on new keepers, including [Anatoliy] Trubin and [Yann] Sommer. They want both keepers and are looking towards the future.

“Both clubs want it and are working on it. I am told that Thursday is the crucial day to make Onana deal happen. There will be a new round of talks to get this deal done.

“It was a tense day [on Wednesday] in talks between the clubs. But this deal remains absolutely on and absolutely close. Andre Onana remains very close to joining Manchester United.”

While there remains optimism a deal can be struck, Ten Hag is making contingency plans should the move fail.

And the United manager has seemingly not ruled out having Dean Henderson as his new No 1 going into the season.

The keeper was allowed to leave on loan for Nottingham Forest last season. And Steve Cooper’s side are expected to complete a permanent deal for the 26-year-old Cumbrian.

Ten Hag comes clean on Man Utd back-up plan

However, no deal has been finalised yet as United wait first to get the Onana deal over the line.

And asked if he could still call upon Henderson this season, Ten Hag insists he’s not ruling anything out.

“Of course. I followed him through the whole of last season. Of course goalkeeper is a key position, but I’m happy with the players we have now. You never know with transfers, but we’re working on it.”

Ten Hag was speaking after watching his United side open their pre-season with a 2-0 win over Leeds in Oslo.

Mason Mount made his debut in the game, and while restricted to the first half, Ten Hag was happy with what he saw.

“I think you’ve seen today what he can bring,” said Ten Hag. “He’s ball-secure, has good solutions on the ball, is dynamic and is good at defending.

“He is a complete midfield player. He’s some areas he has to work on but, in general, he’s a very good player who suits us and can help us achieve our goals.

“He was great, but we all expected this from him. This was just his first game, but he’s going to contribute to our performance so much. We know his capabilities and he will absolutely increase the level of our team.

“It’s exciting that we have him, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro. But don’t forget we also have other options – for example, Christian Eriksen.

“One of the options we have is Bruno, Casemiro and Mason – and we have to see how that develops, how it progresses in pre-season and going into the season.”

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