In the history of top goalkeepers to have graced the Italian Serie A, André Onana will surely feature. However, it has only been one season for Onana as the 27-year old prepares for the next phase of his career, at Manchester United in the Premier League. The Cameroonian keeper joined Inter Milan on a free transfer from Dutch giants Ajax in what was a major transfer coup for the Italian giants. Onana would go on to help Inter reach the UEFA Champions League final and was superb in the loss to Manchester City. he joins the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Toldo, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Guillermo Ochoa and Mike Maignan who have played in the Italian Serie A, and had a mark. With Onana in, expect Manchester United to enjoy higher ratings and great tips at https://www.cheekypunter.com/ when the Premier League returns. The big question now is whether Onana’s exit after a season in Italy weakens the Italian top league.
Talent drain
Inter Milan’s loss is definitely Manchester United’s gain when looked at in the angle of talent drain. However, from a business perspective, at US$50m, Inter Milan made a decent profit for the man they got on a free transfer from Ajax just over 12 months ago. As this piece of shrewd business leaves Inter Milan executives smiling all the way to the bank, the move will not be very exciting for Serie A fans, who will rightly feel the money poured into the league by their Premier League counterparts is leaving them in a worse situation. Onana was outstanding in the Champions League last season, and notably, Serie A had three teams playing in the European club competition finals. While all the three teams lost in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League finals, it was billed a good start towards rebuilding Italian football. However, the price paid for such feats is the heightened interest in the most outstanding players. The fact that these are only picked out at top dollar means the league loses to a direct opponent. The concentration of such stars in the Premier League will explain this further.
Massive windfall
How Inter Milan reinvests the massive windfall from Onana’s sale is another issue. The club will need to move with speed to get the best available, in a market that has been infiltrated by high asking prices and exorbitant agent fees. Onana’s arrival at Inter Milan was expected to work as a long-term replacement for club captain Samir Handanovic. After a smooth transition, Onana took over the number one slot and now both him and Handanovic are out of the club. It is back to the drawing board for Simone Inzaghi, who has four keepers but none at the quality of Onana or Handanovic. Inter Milan have a very short window to make the right decision as regards the keeper they will go with into the season. The good thing is that they have the money from Onana’s sale but fact remains, this talent drain leaves Serie A at a not-so-strong position.
