Arsenal eye bargain Andre Onana transfer as possible Bernd Leno replacement

Arsenal are making their move in the transfer market over four weeks before the summer window opens, with discussions taking place over a deal for Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, who may replace Bernd Leno.

The goalkeeping situation at Arsenal, like so many other issues, has been a slow-burning process that having been not properly seen to, has blown up into a more severe issue. There hasn’t been a fully reliable man in between the sticks since Jens Lehmann.

Bernd Leno is a goalkeeper with negative and positive attributes. He has saved Arsenal multiple points since being instilled as the number one, just as he’s cost the side points as well. While the issue of Leno being number one may be far away from the most serious concern in north London, how they’ve dealt with the number two situation has been.

Emiliano Martinez was sold for £20m, a deal the club could not turn down. In came Alex Runarsson to act as Leno’s understudy, with the Icelandic keeper being a hugely disappointing acquisition, even if for such a meagre fee.

Arsenal eye bargain Andre Onana transfer from Ajax as possible Bernd Leno replacement in summer window

Mat Ryan was signed in the winter on loan, a smart piece of business, yet even his future is undecided and Mikel Arteta fielding him in the Premier League may even suggest the clock is ticking on Leno’s time in north London, one not aided by his admission that he would be ‘open to anything’ in the future.

The German has two years left on his deal and has failed to win over a large contingent of the supporters, who understandably see his flaws as a crucial element of his game that has and will not be eradicated given the consistency of such errors throughout his career. The argument for him needing legitimate competition is a strong one, too.

Either way, there will be movement in that department, it seems.

While right-backs, left-backs, holding midfielders, attacking midfielders and strikers sit among the ever-growing list of areas to tackle, Arsenal are taking strides to strengthen their goalkeeping department.

Their attention has turned to the Netherlands.

Arsenal Looking to Sign Andre Onana from Ajax for £7m

Only Arsenal could look to sign a player with a major ‘if’ plastered across his face.

Onana is name that has drifted away from the limelight in recent months, for a quite obvious reason. One of the stars of Ajax’s brilliant run to the Champions League semi-finals two years ago, the Cameroonian keeper has been out of action since February for failing an out-of-competition doping test. It was claimed by Ajax that their number one accidentally took medicine prescribed for his wife.

Handed a 12-month suspension as a result, he is currently fighting against the ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) set to hear his appeal in June before a verdict is given later that month. If successful, Onana will have his sentence shortened to eight months, which means he could train with the club in June before being back in action two months later. He’s currently not allowed to be with the squad and is training elsewhere.

As per Goal, Arsenal held a strong interest in Onana back in January before he was hit with the ban, only pulling out of the deal due to the money Ajax demanded. However, the situation has now altered and the Dutch side are open to selling the 25-year-old with his contract set to expire in 2022.

Holding out for £12m, it’s stated an offer in the region of £7m would be enough to tempt Ajax into doing business.

Of course, Arsenal will hold out to discover the verdict of his appeal to CAS, but their interest is ‘strong’ and given their tight budget a goalkeeper of his calibre for that price is an opportunity to snatch at.

Whether this indicates the end of the line for Leno isn’t known. That said, Ryan may well be kept on for longer than his six month loan deal, while selling Leno with two years left on his contract could inject some added funding come the summer.

Signed for £22.5m, Arsenal would surely look to recoup close to that, and replacing him with a cheaper alternative who is highly rated across the continent, as well as being younger, might actually constitute some of the smartest business they could do.

If any deal were to conclude, Onana would join Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Thomas Party and potentially Mohamed Elneny in jetting off to AFCON in the coming winter. However, that’s what backup goalkeepers are for, right?