Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Exclusive: Private meeting tees up impressive Tottenham transfer with fallen star to be replaced

Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana

Inter Milan keeper Andre Onana is close to signing for Man Utd

Tottenham could sign a high profile Inter Milan star to replace a club icon whose time is up, with TEAMtalk exclusively learning of the Italian side’s transfer plans.

A select few crucial areas are expected to be addressed by Tottenham next summer. New arrivals at goalkeeper and centre-half are predicted, while a creative midfielder is clearly required.

Hugo Lloris has been Spurs’ No 1 between the sticks for over a decade. The veteran Frenchman joined from Lyon in 2012 and for the bulk of his stint, has been an elite-level performer.

However, his performances have suffered a notable dip in recent times and one particular statistic this season makes for grim reading.

Indeed, Lloris currently leads all Premier League players this term in the errors leading to a goal category. His tally of four is at least double every other player in the league regardless of position. Five players are tied on two.

Calls have begun to grow for Spurs to move Lloris on at season’s end. His current deal doesn’t expire until 2024, but pundit Graeme Souness and Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas are among those believing a change is needed.

Premier League stoppers Illan Meslier, Robert Sanchez, Jordan Pickford and David Raya have all been linked with replacing Lloris by one outlet or another.

A higher profile addition in the form of Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak has even done the rounds.

However, TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has told us to keep an eye out regarding a move for Inter Milan’s Andre Onana.


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Inter to make quick buck on Onana?

The 26-year-old only moved to the San Siro last summer upon leaving Ajax as a free agent.

He’s displaced the imperious Samir Handanovic, though Inter’s financial strife means they may yet explore a sale. Given Onana arrived without costing a fee, a sale will represent excellent business for the beleaguered Italians.

Inter are understood to be in need of raising between £50m-£55m over the summer to help balance the books. As such, we understand their sporting director travelled to England last week and conducted several meetings.

Player sales rather than acquisitions were the hottest topic, and moves involving Man City and Tottenham could result.

“Inter Milan are a team to watch this summer,” said Bailey. “Their sporting director, Piero Ausilio, was in England last week meeting with numerous clubs, but they were not shopping for talent but making it known that they had talent on offer for Premier League clubs.

“Ausilio is believed to have met with a handful of clubs, talking subjects such as Romelu Lukaku’s future and also making an offer for Bournemouth’s number two Neto to become the back-up at the San Siro.

“However, he was also pushing forward potential sales and the club’s owners Suning are looking for profits to be made of up to £50million.

“One issue they have is that they won’t be selling Milan Skriniar, who is going to leave on a free transfer likely to PSG this summer.

“Their other players in contention to be sold include Denzel Dumfries, who was already being looked at by a host of clubs over the past few months including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

“However, there are others including left-back Federico Dimarco – who has been watched Manchester City in recent weeks – and also goalkeeper Andre Onana.

“Onana joined Inter from Ajax last summer, but he could now be allowed to leave after just 12 months in Milan.

“Tottenham are very much one to keep an eye on. They liked him a lot before he moved to Milan.”

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