Last week, Man United fans were very excited by the transfer information of the Old Trafford team. The "Red Devils" beat Newcastle United in the Benjamin Sesko deal, publicly expressing interest in young talent Carlos Baleba and rumors related to Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Sesko has now debuted at Old Trafford, Baleba sees it as a first personal deal with Man United and is just waiting for the "Red Devils" leadership to sit down to negotiate with Brighton. The only thing unclear is whether Man United are looking for a new goalkeeper, as information about Donnarumma begins to appear.
As for Andre Onana, the Cameroonian goalkeeper has been absent from all 5 of Man United's friendlies in the pre-season. The 29-year-old star is said to have suffered a hamstring injury and only returned to training with the team on August 11. Onana's most recent official match was a 0-1 defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final.
However, rumors surrounding Onana's departure from Old Trafford have been linked to his inconsistent form. Since joining Man United in the summer of 2023, the Cameroonian goalkeeper has rarely brought a sense of security in the "Red Devils" goal.
For the above reasons, Man United was looking for a quality goalkeeper in June. The "Red Devils" have asked to borrow goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez but Aston Villa have refused when they only want to sell the 2022 World Cup champion for 40 million pounds. This is too high a 32-year-old goalkeeper and goes against Man United's strategy of prioritizing under-26 players.
It has not been until recent days that PSG have valued Gianluigi Donnarumma at £26 million that there has been a lot of attention on Man United.
PSG decided not to offer the Italian goalkeeper an extension even though the two sides only have 1 year left on their contract. French media said that Donnarumma was not satisfied with the salary offered by PSG. Previously, the UEFA Champions League champion recruited goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier from Lille and parting ways with Donnarumma is not a big deal.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Donnarumma will definitely leave because PSG has removed his name from the registration list for the European Super Cup against Tottenham. The Paris team has not even called up the 26-year-old star after the two sides' relationship broke down.
According to give me Sports, Donnarumma prioritizes the Premier League to continue his career. He is said to have rejected attractive offers from Galatasaray and Al Ittihad. With the same source, the EURO 2020 championship team most eager to join is Manchester United.
The biggest barrier to this deal is money. Donnarumma's salary is too high and Man United's player appreciation fee is almost zero. The 26-year-old goalkeeper is receiving around £212,000/week at PSG, a figure quite high compared to M.U's current salary fund. If they want to buy more players, the "Red Devils" need to quickly sell off Garnacho, Antony, Malacia and Sancho.
If this deal is successful, Donnarumma will become a valuable addition to the "Red Devils" when he showed his class at AC Milan, PSG and the Italian national team. In addition, this goalkeeper is only 26 years old, in line with Man United's long-term plan.
However, the moves of the Man United board are still unclear. They also have great interest in Carlos Baleba, a star valued by Brighton at more than 100 million pounds. However, the "Red Devils" have reached a personal agreement with the Cameroonian midfielder and if it goes smoothly on the table, Man United is willing to spend money to own Baleba.
This could see a deal with Donnarumma folding as the Red Devils are likely to focus all their efforts on Baleba. However, it is not ruled out that Man United will play big in the coming days when they continue to have new loans to buy both new players.
