Chelsea have reportedly withdrawn their interest in signing Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana, leaving Manchester United in pole position to acquire his services.
The Blues are on the lookout for a new number one after Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga both struggled to convince under a multitude of head coaches last season.
Due to a finger injury for Senegal international Mendy, Kepa - who had lost his number one status to the ex-Rennes man - played a prominent role with 29 starts in the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.
However, the Blues could only finish in 12th place with nine clean sheets next to Kepa's name, and both he and Mendy are being tipped to head elsewhere during the summer window.
Despite the presence of Gabriel Slonina and Marcus Bettinelli, Chelsea will try to bolster their goalkeeping ranks if at least one of Mendy or Kepa leave in the coming weeks, as USA youngster Slonina could be sent out on loan to continue his development.
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Inter's Onana had apparently been identified as a leading target, having played a key role in the Nerazzurri's run to the 2022-23 Champions League final, keeping five clean sheets in six knockout matches.
Simone Inzaghi's side suffered heartbreak at the hands of Manchester City in the showpiece match, but Onana's performances throughout the tournament were lauded, and the ex-Cameroon international also kept eight clean sheets from 24 Serie A appearances.
However, the Evening Standard reports that Chelsea have now pulled out of the race to sign Onana and are now pursuing alternative targets in their search for a new goalkeeper.
With Onana under contract at San Siro for another four years, Inter are apparently prepared to demand as much as £50m to sanction a sale in the summer transfer window - a fee that Chelsea are not willing to stump up.
A similar situation reportedly arose when Chelsea were considering a move for AC Milan's Mike Maignan, who is valued at £80m by the Rossoneri, leading to Chelsea withdrawing their interest in the Frenchman too.
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Chelsea apparently touched base with Inter in April to discuss a move for Onana, but the Blues have an extensive list of backup options, including Valencia's Giorgi Mamardashvili, Borussia Dortmund's Gregor Kobel and Brentford's David Raya.
With Mauricio Pochettino's side ending their pursuit of Onana, Man United are seemingly in pole position to complete a deal for a player who rose to prominence under Erik ten Hag at Ajax.
Before having to serve a lengthy doping ban, Onana won three Eredivisie titles and kept 85 clean sheets in 214 games for Ajax, who poached him from Barcelona's academy in the summer of 2015.
The Red Devils' current number one David de Gea is out of contract at the end of the month, and there are fresh doubts over whether the Spaniard will sign an extension at Old Trafford.
Man United confirmed that negotiations over a new deal for De Gea were ongoing after announcing their released and retained lists, but it has now been claimed that the 32-year-old is set to seek pastures new this summer.
Ben Knapton
