Ruben Amorim has identified Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa as his first-choice option to replace Andre Onana as Manchester United number one.
Onana, 29, has significantly underwhelmed since his £47.3 million switch from Inter Milan in 2023 to replace long-term stalwart David de Gea, who left Old Trafford on a free transfer.
No Safe Hands at Old Trafford
Despite arriving with the reputation as one of Europe’s standout shot stopper, Onana has been a constant source of painful mistakes and game-changing errors in his two seasons for the Reds.
The Cameroon international has not even impressed with his feet – one of the main reasons why Erik ten Hag chose him to replace De Gea – compounding the weakness with his hands.
But where Ten Hag demonstrated consistent faith in Onana after the pair’s shared time with Ajax, Amorim holds no loyalty to the goalkeeper whose form plummeted after the Portuguese manager swapped Lisbon for Manchester in November.
If it were not for the fact that Onana’s deputy, Altay Bayindir, was even shakier when selected by Amorim, the 40-year-old coach would almost certainly have permanently dropped his first-choice goalkeeper after the cataclysmic performance against Lyon in the Europa League final.
Bayindir – another failed relic from the Ten Hag era – is expected to leave the club this summer with United actively pushing for the 27-year-old’s return to Turkey.
But Onana is believed to want to remain at Old Trafford and re-establish himself as one of the best ‘keepers in Europe. There is optimism amongst United’s hierarchy he will be able to do this after a full pre-season under Amorim.
One In, One Out?
The bulk of the summer budget will be directed towards the misfiring forward line with a £62.5 million deal already agreed for Matheus Cunha and talks ongoing for Bryan Mbeumo at a similar price.
A new number nine is also considered an urgent priority with all of the primary options for the position – Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Osimhen, Hugo Ekitike or Benjamin Sesko – expected to be expensive signings.
This leaves little room for a new goalkeeper beyond a cheaper replacement for Bayindir to provide backup to Onana, rather than an outright upgrade.
However, there is reported to be interest in Onana from the Saudi Pro League who would have little trouble meeting United’s demands for the 29-year-old nor offering him a significant upgrade on his wage packet at Old Trafford.
Furthermore, United logged an enquiry with the agent of Gianluigi Donnarumma as contract talks between the Italian and Paris-Saint Germain stalled. The club are also exploring a deal for Aston Villa shot stopper Emiliano Martinez with the World Cup winner believed to be open to the move.
This suggests United would consider an upgrade on Onana if the right option presented itself and the Reds could shift the Cameroonian in the opposite direction – and there appears to only be one choice in Amorim’s mind.
Portuguese reporter Sebastião Sousa-Pinto (Sport TV Portugal) contends United are monitoring Porto’s number one, Costa, as one of the options on their list to “take over” from Onana.
Sousa-Pinto even reveals the Portugal international has been Amorim’s “favourite” choice since January, with United’s head coach having faced Costa on multiple occasions as Sporting manager in the past.
A successful pursuit of the Porto shot stopper remains unlikely, however, as United would need to find a buyer for a player who does not want to leave, and then secure the signature of a highly-sought after star player from a club who do want to sell.
Furthermore, Manchester City have been strongly linked with a move for the 25-year-old as they consider options to replace Ederson.
Pep Guardiola’s side are wasting no time in the transfer market this summer with the prospect of a pivotal date in court on the immediate horizon. But they have, thus far, been unable to close a deal for Costa despite reports suggesting an agreement had been reached.
This gives INEOS a window of opportunity to arm their head coach with his dream target in goal while dealing a deadly blow to their bitter local rivals at the same time.
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
