Chelsea have “ended” their interest in Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana according to an interesting piece from Nizaar Kinsella in the Evening Standard this morning.
Onana has appeared to be our top option all summer, with Mike Maignan seemingly too expensive for us and David Raya off to Tottenham.
But after meetings between Chelsea directors and their Inter equivalents this week, it’s become clear that there is not going to be any reasonable common ground found on the price here either, and this story pretty confidently rules out any chance of a move for the Cameroon keeper.
Manchester United seem to have come up on the inside and outflanked us in the chase for a goalkeeper and the will now do their best to get an Onana deal done as we withdraw and look at other options.
Kinsella notes that Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili and Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel have also been mentioned as alternatives to be pursued, but increasingly it feels likely that we prioritise other positions and go into this season with both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy still in place.
That feels like a huge mistake, but it’s understandable if you’re being quoted vast sums for goalkeepers you don’t really believe in long term. If that money is better spent on a solid midfield and a goal machine striker, perhaps a few Kepa flaps won’t hurt the team as badly.