Andre Onana reveals transfer approaches from Chelsea and Arsenal

03/27/2025 07:58 AM

Andre Onana has revealed that he was approached by Arsenal and Chelsea before he ended up joining Manchester United.

The Cameroon international moved to United in a £47.2 million deal in July 2023 having spent a season at Inter.

Onana spent six seasons in the first team at Ajax and helped the club win three Eredivisie titles before he was signed by Inter on a free transfer.

But the 28-year-old claims both Arsenal and Chelsea registered their interest before his switch to Serie A.

When asked to name the clubs he has come close to joining during his time at Ajax, Onana told Le Media Carre: ‘I had Monaco, I had Nice, I had Atletico de Madrid, I had Chelsea, Arsenal.’

But when asked to name the club he came closest to joining from Ajax, Onana replied: ‘Lyon.

‘I spoke with the president, the technical director so it was advanced anyway.

‘It was difficult for me to speak with the president because I decided to learn Italian.’

Onana also addressed the current struggles at United and reveals he was already made aware of ‘difficulties’ at the club by two former players – Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku.

‘No, it doesn’t burn me, it doesn’t burn my brain but it is Manchester United,’ Onana said.

‘I was already aware of the difficulties. I spoke with Mkhitaryan at the time I was with him at Inter. Lukaku, too, and he kept telling me it’s a complicated club and that everything is played mentally.

‘But otherwise it’s a fantastic club. In terms of results it’s a little complicated at the moment but the club itself is gigantic and some certain players write to me to tell me pack a jacket because it rains all the time, you will be depressed because the weather is not nice but you can’t say no to Manchester United, it’s an institution, one of the best clubs in the world, one of the biggest clubs in the world.

‘When this opportunity came I didn’t think long, when this proposal arrived I said, Manchester United, Premier League, let’s go’. It’s a new challenge, a new start, we’re going to give everything.

‘On a collective level it’s one of the most beautiful challenges of my life. Everywhere I have been I have taken up challenges and this one is wonderful in difficulty, you must always find the positive side, it’s not going well today but it could do tomorrow, United have experienced difficult situations and that is the case at the moment but I am convinced that the situation will change sooner or later.

‘Our objective is to put Manchester United back in place as the biggest club in the country. We must be realistic, we also have opponents around us who are well prepared, who do things well and it’s difficult to win. We have our neighbours City who are good, we have Liverpool right next door who do things well too and so the Premier League has an extremely high level and there are many factors.’

Asked to name the most difficult thing about playing for United, Onana replied: ‘The exposure.

‘When it goes well you are on a cloud, when it goes badly you are lower than that.

‘That is why it’s important to find the right balance, it’s not to forget what made you get there, there is a lot of pressure at this club.’

When asked about Ruben Amorim’s claim in January that this current side is the worst in United’s history, Onana said: ‘He means it when he said it.

‘Football is a game of emotions, at that moment he said it because he meant it.

‘Perhaps it’s the question we should ask him but the results are not there. It’s a frustration for us players but what are we doing to do, we can only continue to work hard, to stay united, that’s how we can change the situation but the coach he got his message across which is clear.’

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