Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, seems determined to add to his midfield options this summer. Recent rumors say that a younger player could be on the way to back up Casemiro and Christian Eriksen and give them more competition.
Man United Amadou Onana may succeed Fellaini
According to Football Insider, one player who could fill that role is Everton youngster Amadou Onana. The former Lille star, who joined Everton in August for £33 million, seems to have caught the eye of United manager Jose Mourinho.
The report says that Ten Hag has “given the green light” to the move in order to add “more power and physicality to his midfield” for the 2023–24 season.
Another article from the same magazine says that the Toffees would approve a sale for around £50 million.
The 21-year-old Belgian has been called “one of the most talented young players in Europe” by his former national team coach, Roberto Martinez.
However, some at Old Trafford may be worried about the prospect of signing a player who has been compared to Marouane Fellaini, who failed at United.
Everton has been in a relegation battle all season, but Onana has shown flashes of his talent. He has one goal and two assists in 31 Premier League games, and reporter Richard Buxton called him “superb” after Everton’s surprise win over Arsenal earlier this year.
Even though the Senegalese star has a lot of promise, the fact that he looks a lot like his countryman Fellaini should worry people at the Theatre of Dreams. Fellaini had a mixed five-and-a-half-year run at the club.
David Moyes bought him from the Merseyside club for £27.5 million in the summer of 2013. He was the only player signed during that window. The 6’4″ brute has always seemed like an odd choice for the club, as Nick Wright of Sky Sports says that his playing style didn’t fit with the club’s “traditions.”
Even though the 87-cap powerhouse eventually became a valued member of the team after scoring 22 goals in 177 games in all competitions, it was clear that his “lack of quality,” as club legend Gary Neville put it in 2016, was a good example of how United recruited players after Sir Alex Ferguson.
The fact that former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has said that young Onana is “like Marouane Fellaini” and that Martinez has also said that the two players are similar because of their “physical presence and dynamism” is worrying.
